


A Chance to Change Everything

by Freezeurbrain



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Altering Fate, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christine is a Queen and should be treated as such, Christine is amazing, F/M, M/M, Magical Elements, SQUIPs are still horrible thank you for checking, Stagedorks is underrated and pure, There will be Richjake later on!, Trans Rich Goranski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2019-11-04 16:19:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 43,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17901449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freezeurbrain/pseuds/Freezeurbrain
Summary: Christine is sent back to the day it all began with a chance, just one chance, to change it all.





	1. Sent Back

**Author's Note:**

> This sprung out of a game me and my friend were playing when we had zero inspiration for writing. She sent me a ship and a prompt. The ship was Stagedorks and the prompt was “If you had the power to change one person’s life, how would you change it?” I had this idea and my friend loved it, and I loved it so much I decided to write a fic for it.

Christine didn’t know where she was.  
It was all white. Blinding, brilliant white. There was no sound. Everything was silent except for her breathing.

“Christine Canigula.” A soft, feminine voice broke the silence. Whoever it was wasn’t talking loudly, but in this silent place, it carried like thunder. Christine’s head jolted up, and she saw a woman standing in front of her. A woman with olive skin and long, smooth black hair, wearing all white except for a golden headband with a single lapis gemstone embedded in the metal. In her hands, she was holding a smooth golden orb that shone with a radiant light. She was beautiful, but she wore a pensive expression on her face. 

“Who... who are you?” Christine asked cautiously, examining the woman from head to toe. “Is this heaven? Are you an angel?” 

The woman gave Christine a sad smile. “No. I am far too imperfect to be an angel. And this is not heaven. Far from it.” She sighed. “I have been observing you and your friends from afar, Christine. You all... have endured too much suffering. Too much, far too young.”

The orb in her hands glowed. On its smooth surface, images began to move. Christine saw the events of the past few weeks play out in a grim montage. Jeremy screaming as the SQUIP entered his bloodstream, Jake’s house burning like dry tinder, and, finally, herself screaming during the play, the action that had ultimately destroyed every last SQUIP.

“What is this place?” Christine asked, staring at the white expanse of nothingness all around her. 

“My prison.” The woman remarked. “Just as Prometheus was punished for giving fire to the mortals, I too made the decision to help a mortal and paid the ultimate price for it. My punishment was not death or torture, but eternal exile to a place where I could never be of significance again.” She gazed at the orb in her hands. “This crystal was a gift. A small mercy by a Goddess who took pity on me. Instead of being alone, I was able to watch mortal affairs through the crystal. It is with this crystal that I observed you and your friends. I am giving you a chance, Christine.” The lady said, her voice calm but tinged with sorrow.

“What? A chance to what?” Christine asked, eyes widening.

“A chance to change everything. To reverse the suffering your friends and yourself had to endure.”

“But... what?” Christine still found this so hard to believe. She pinched her arm, thinking that maybe this was just another crazy dream, a figment of her hyperactive imagination. But no. When she pinched her arm, all she felt was a sharp pain. 

“I understand that you have doubts, but believe me, Christine. I am as real as you are, and my magic is as well.” The woman said.

“This... this is a lot to take in.” Christine started pulling at the hem of her pajama shirt.

The woman’s voice was heavy. “I failed you, Christine. I let you and your friends down.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “My powers are limited. There are... others observing me. This is the most I can do for you.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Christine asked.

“That I cannot say. But I can tell you this, Christine. I can only send you back once. In other words, be wary of what decisions you make. This time... they are permanent.” The woman held out the orb. “Please, touch it.” 

Christine held out her hand and pressed her palm gently to the surface of the orb. It was smooth as silk and warm, not hot, but pleasantly warm. A small buzz came from somewhere deep inside of the orb, not unlike the purring of a kitten. 

The woman took a deep breath and began chanting in a language unlike anything Christine had ever heard before. The orb began to glow, and Christine felt the buzzing sensation picking up. The woman began chanting louder and faster, and the orb glowed brighter and the buzzing deeper. Characters of a strange dialect began to flash before her eyes, fading away like embers escaping from a campfire. The orb began to grow warmer, and the chanting grew faster.

Her eyelids felt heavy, like they had been weighted. Try as she might, she wasn’t able to keep them open for more than a moment before they closed and the world went silent.


	2. Back to School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the cast I’m imagining for this fic, and the ones I usually write with 
> 
> Christine: Stephanie Hsu  
> Jeremy: Will Roland  
> Michael: George Salazar  
> Brooke: Lauren Marcus  
> Chloe: Katlyn Carsyn  
> Jenna: Tiffany Mann  
> Rich: Gerard Canonico  
> Jake: Britton Smith  
> Mr. Reyes/Jeremy’s Dad/Scary Stockboy: Jason “Sweetooth” Williams

Christine woke up to the familiar sound of her alarm. She sat up, blinking as her eyes tried to adjust to the shift in light. Her head was pounding as she remembered the crazy dream she’d had last night. There had been a lady holding a golden crystal, and she had told Christine that she was going back to when it all began. Christine chuckled. Her mind could think of some pretty crazy things. 

Then she remembered something the lady had said in her dream. Something about how she knew Christine had doubts, but that the lady and her magic were real. 

Christine jolted up and got out of bed. She rushed to her window and opened the curtains, peering out at her lawn below. Sure enough, it was different. She could see the Halloween decorations on her family’s porch, where they hadn’t been when she’d gone to sleep the previous night. 

Her alarm was still buzzing. Christine walked over to her nightstand and grabbed her phone, letting the purple charger fall to the floor. Her lockscreen wasn’t the picture of her and Jeremy she’d changed it to, but rather it was back to the photo of her and her dog, Marley. And sure enough, white lettering flashed on the screen reading “October 1st, 2015”. 

Christine gaped at her screen. “So that was real.” She whispered under her breath. “I’m really back to the day it started.” 

She had to sit down and take a few deep breaths. Marley walked over to her legs, and she scooped him up and set him on her lap. As she ran her fingers through Marley’s curly black fur, she tried to recall everything Jeremy had told her about the day he bought the SQUIP. Which wasn’t a whole lot.

_He said he heard about it from Rich after play rehearsal._

She stood up, causing Marley to leap to the floor. Grabbing her journal off her desk, she flipped to a fresh page and grabbed her favorite purple pen, the one she’d chewed many times while working on a difficult homework assignment. She began writing, the words coming almost as fast as her thoughts.

_Jeremy heard about SQUIPs from Rich after rehearsal._

She shut her notebook. If she was going to stop the SQUIP, she might as well head straight to the source. 

Turning to her closet, she got out the new red dress she’d bought while shopping with her mother before school started. She’d loved the way it fanned out around her when she twirled. She also grabbed her weathered jean jacket, the one with a smiley face patch ironed on right above her heart. She put on a pair of black leggings under her dress, and finally, her pair of grey tennis shoes with the pink laces. 

She’d gotten dressed just in time. “Christine!” Her mother called from downstairs. “Breakfast is ready!” 

“Coming!” Christine grabbed her notebook and pen, along with her phone and the pastel fidget spinner she kept on her nightstand. Tucking her spinner safely into her jacket pocket, she bounded down the stairs and arrived at the breakfast table just as her mom was putting a bowl of oatmeal down at her seat. 

“Good morning, Christine.” Her father smiled at her as she sat down. 

“Morning, Dad.” Christine grabbed the cinnamon her mom had set out and sprinkled a ton of it onto her oatmeal, causing her mother to sigh.

“I put cinnamon on it before you got it, Christine!” She said, blowing on her oatmeal to cool it down. 

“I know. I just like a ton of it.” Christine giggled. 

“She gets it from me.” Christine’s dad grinned at her. “Pass the cinnamon.” 

Christine handed the cinnamon to her dad, then grabbed a spoon and took a bite. It was hot, but delicious. 

“Your nail polish is kind of starting to rub off there, Christine.” Her mother gestured to Christine’s nails, which were painted dark pink. Sure enough, the polish was rubbed and faded at the tips. “Swing by the salon after school and I’ll touch them up for you.” 

“Ok, Mama.” Christine said. It was a little startling to see her nails a different shade of color. For a moment, she’d forgotten that she’d gone back almost a full month.

A few more minutes passed, with Christine and her parents eating oatmeal and chatting about the upcoming concert for the middle-school band her father taught. Christine, having already heard about the concert before she got sent back in time, knew that it would go off without a hitch despite there being a moment where the tuba got off-key in the third song, but she didn’t say anything besides the usual ‘it’s gonna be great’. The last thing she needed was for her parents to think she was crazy. 

“Oh, Jesus.” Christine’s mother checked the time on her phone. “I’ll be late to the salon if I don’t get going now.” She stood up, scraping what was left of her oatmeal into the garbage can and placing the empty bowl in the sink.

“I’ve got to be at the school soon.” Christine’s father said, putting his spoon down on his napkin. 

“Do you mind staying until the bus gets here, Christine? It’s only fifteen minutes.” Christine’s mother grabbed her red leather purse off the counter.

Christine nodded. 

“Awesome.” Christine’s father said, giving his daughter a peck on the cheek. “Oh, and would you mind filling Marley’s food and water bowls? I noticed they were running a little low.” 

“Sure thing.” Christine grinned. 

“Excellent. Love you, sweetie.” Christine’s dad said as he and her mother walked out the door, leaving Christine alone in the house. 

The first thing she did was grab the bag of dog food for Marley. Pouring enough of it into the bowl that a few pieces spilled out, she grabbed the water bowl and carried it to the sink. 

After filling the water bowl with cool, clear water, she set it down. Then she grabbed her phone. She had a lot of work ahead of her, and the best thing she could do to calm herself was listen to a little music. 

She rooted around in her backpack for her earbuds, and eventually found them in the side pocket. She plugged them in and swiped to Apple Music, where she decided on _The Great Comet_ album. 

Listening to Phillipa Soo singing “No One Else” managed to calm her nerves. She was so absorbed in the song that she almost didn’t hear the bus pull up. 

Scratching Marley behind the ears, she grabbed her school bag and raced out to meet the bus. The doors opened for her and she walked inside. 

The chatter and shouting on the bus was at a fever pitch. Christine sat down in her usual seat next to the window, where Madeline Smith was already sitting. Madeline smiled at her, and Christine returned the gesture. On a normal day, she would have started up a conversation with Madeline (She was a sweet girl, albeit a little obsessed with French culture. But Christine was the same way about theatre, so she would have been a huge hypocrite to judge Madeline). But today was anything but normal. 

Christine bit her lip as the bus started moving. It seemed like every turn of the tires was twisting her stomach into a knot. Her nervousness must have shown on her face, because Madeline looked over at her with a concerned expression. 

“Christine, _chérie_? Is something the matter?” Madeline’s brown eyes widened. 

“No, no. Just... play rehearsals are coming up. I’m a little nervous.” Christine bluffed. 

“Ah, don’t be. You’ll do magnificently. You always do.” Madeline reassured. 

Christine forced a smile and Madeline started talking about a party she’d been to over the weekend. Some party that involved alcohol and a make-out session with Jake Dillinger. Christine wasn’t entirely listening, just widening her eyes and saying ‘oh’ at the right moments. She’d heard this story from Madeline before, and was almost certain the make-out session wouldn’t lead anywhere.

“And I think Chloe got jealous, which is absolutely ridiculous because she broke up with Jake a while ago, and now she’s spreading around this positively wild rumor that I had sex with Jake, which I did not. It was just making out. Still, everyone is believing her because she’s Chloe Valentine and I’m just the Francophile art kid.” Madeline finished, sighing and pushing her curled brown hair behind her ear. 

“You shouldn’t let her say those things about you. Go up to her and ask her to stop.” Christine offered. 

“Oh, Christine. You’re so brave. I could never. It’ll all blow over in a few weeks anyway. Chloe will find some other rumor to latch herself onto like a vulture and everyone will forget about this ‘sex-on-the-pool-table’ business.” 

Christine managed a laugh, despite herself. Madeline snorted as well, which made them both laugh again. 

After a few more minutes of Madeline taking about a painting she was doing for extra credit in art class, the bus pulled into the school parking lot and the driver gave all the students a glare as he yelled, “Everybody off!” 

Madeline waved goodbye to Christine as she walked over to the art room, and Christine decided to go to her locker. That was, as far as she could recall, where she’d ran into Jeremy on that fateful day. 

The hallway was so crowded and so loud that it almost made her long for the bus. It wasn’t long before she ran into a familiar face. 

“So, Jenna Rolan said that Madeline told Jake, ‘I’ll only have sex with you if you beat me at pool’. And then she lost at pool, _deliberately_.” Chloe Valentine’s voice managed to be heard over the chatter and yells of the school hallway, which Christine had to admit was a real feat.

Brooke Lohst’s eyes widened. “That is so awesome!” She squealed. 

“Brooke!” Chloe shot a sharp glance towards her friend, who quickly changed her facial expression to one of disgust. 

“I mean slutty.” Brooke said, rolling her eyes. 

Jenna Rolan apparently couldn’t contain herself anymore. “And then, Madeline was all...” 

Chloe’s head whipped around to face Jenna so fast that Christine thought she was going to hit the lockers. “I’m telling the story, Jenna!” She... well, said wasn’t the right word, but yelled wasn’t either. Shouted? Yeah, that was it. Chloe had shouted. 

There was a moment of awkward silence before Christine noticed a familiar guy, and Jenna shot a disgusted glance towards him. “Ugh, he’s like, _totally_ getting off on that.” 

All three girls gave disgusted groans and the boy, face red with embarrassment, started double-timing it down the hallway. 

At once, Christine knew who that was. It was Jeremy. Picking up the pace, she started following him. It wasn’t long before someone else she knew, or had known before she got sent back, showed up. 

“Yo, don’t touch me, tall-ass!” Rich Goranski shoved Jeremy away from him with a glare. 

“Oh, uh, sorry, I-“ Jeremy began, but Rich’s attention span was shorter than that of Christine when she had coffee. 

“Yo, Jakey D!” Rich turned around and gave Jake Dillinger a friendly punch on the shoulder, which Christine had never understood. Why would you punch someone as a greeting? “What’s the story with Madeline?” 

Jake put on a face of sincerity that had Christine fooled for a hot second. “Man, I shouldn’t say,” he lowered his voice to where Christine had to strain her ears to hear it, “but it’s a good thing I rock at pool.” 

Rich let out a chortle and Jake slapped him on the back. Christine was a little taken aback at how Jake wasn’t setting the record straight about Madeline. Then again, she reasoned, maybe he hadn’t heard the ‘sex’ part of the rumor and thought Rich was referring to the make-out session. Giving how high up on the social hierarchy he was, though, that seemed very unlikely. But he _had_ recently broken up with Chloe, so maybe she hadn’t told him...

Jeremy started walking, and Christine took that as her cue to follow him. It was tough, given the crowded hallway and the fact that Christine didn’t want to push anyone out of her way (even if she did, she probably wouldn’t have had the guts). 

She saw Jeremy’s face turn towards a poster on the wall and walk towards it. Once he read the poster, however, he stepped back and continued walking. 

Christine took a second to see what the poster said. It read, in big bold letters, _**After-School Play Signups**_. 

Christine couldn’t understand why Jeremy had recoiled upon seeing the poster. Sure, plays and theatre weren’t for everyone, but such a sudden and negative reaction to the mere thought of signing up was something Christine had never seen before. It was as if he was afraid of plays. Stage fright was a perfectly reasonable thing, but to be afraid of plays and the theatre altogether...

Christine blinked as she realized she’d zoned out. “Darn it.” She muttered under her breath as she started speed-walking down the hallway. She turned the corner to the left... 

And literally ran right into Jeremy. 

She managed to catch herself, but Jeremy stumbled forward. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, that was all my fault.” Christine ran over to see if Jeremy was alright. “I wasn’t looking where I was going, and I ran right into you! Are you ok? Please tell me you’re ok. I couldn’t live with myself if you weren’t.” Christine realized she was rambling and stopped herself. 

Jeremy made a sound that might have been a word, but it certainly didn’t sound like it. 

“Did you say something?” Christine asked, confused. 

“I, uh... I...” 

Christine decided to change the subject. She noticed something on Jeremy’s backpack, and craned her neck to see it. It was writing, right on the white rectangular part that was made of shiny plastic. Someone had written, in bold letters with a big black marker, _Boyf_. 

“Uh, I think someone wrote _Boyf_ on your backpack.” Christine said, pointing to the writing. 

Jeremy’s eyes widened and he chuckled nervously, his face a bright shade of scarlet. “I, uh...” 

Jeremy was saved from answering by the tardy bell, which rang out and caused the teens still left in the hallway to start making their way towards their classrooms. 

“I gotta go.” Jeremy said, and rushed off before Christine could even say ‘see ya later’. 

Christine decided it was pointless to follow Jeremy to his class, and made her way towards Spanish, her first class of the day. It was only after she sat down in her seat that she repressed a groan as she realized she would have to take a bunch of tests and quizzes all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s chapter two! I made this one a little longer to compensate for the first chapter being so short


	3. Play Rehearsal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christine goes to play rehearsal and learns more about SQUIPs.

Spanish class passed without much fanfare. Same with English and Algebra. She finally saw Jeremy again around lunch. 

She had just walked out of the lunch line holding her tray, when she saw Jeremy sitting at a table next to one Michael Mell. They were talking about something, but Christine couldn’t tell what. Until Jeremy propped his backpack up onto the table, and Michael looked at it, confused. Michael then took out his own backpack. Someone had written _riends_ across the front of Michael’s backpack. When you put the two backpacks together, you got _boyfriends_. 

Other students in the cafeteria had noticed by now, and most of them were laughing. Jeremy’s face turned red and he put his backpack back down on the floor, muttering something about school, based on how well Christine could read lips. Which wasn’t very well. 

Something on the wall caught Christine’s eye. A sheet of bright pink paper had been tacked up to the bulletin board. The paper was so bright that even from where she stood, Christine could see there were big bold letters spelling out _After-School Play Signups._

Christine found herself walking towards the sheet. She wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to do the school play again. Plus, if she stopped the SQUIP, maybe the play wouldn’t be as bad as it had been before she got sent back. 

It was still jarring. To wake up and be sent back in time. So many questions were swirling around in her brain, the most common one being why. 

She was jolted out of her thoughts by a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and who should be standing there but Jeremy, who seemed to be doing everything in his power to avoid eye contact. 

“Uh, if you’re done, could I please have the pen?” He asked. 

“Huh? Oh, sure.” Christine wrote her name down on the sign-up sheet, then handed the pen to Jeremy. 

She was starting to walk back to the table when she heard laughing, followed by Rich’s voice. 

“You’re signing up for the play, Heere? What are you, _gay_?” 

More harsh laughter. 

“Good one, Rich.” Chloe giggled, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

“Y’know, I wouldn’t be surprised if he is gay, what with all the time he and that loser spend together.” Jake scoffed.

Jeremy bit his lip and walked back to the table, fist clenched. Michael offered a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 

Christine surprised herself and did something she hadn’t done the first time. She walked over to Jeremy’s table. 

“Hey, for what it’s worth? I’m glad you’re signing up for the play. It’s good to see boys who are interested in theatre.” Christine smiled. 

“Oh, uh... yep. That’s me. Theatre. Love it.” Jeremy stammered, smiling slightly. 

“It’s just, so many guys think that liking theatre will make them girly, or gay, and that’s just... stupid!” Christine sighed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. 

“Yeah, it’s really...” Jeremy seemed to be searching for the right word. “Foolish.” He blurted. 

Christine giggled. She hadn’t realized how funny Jeremy could be. “I’m glad to be working with you.” 

Jeremy stammered out a “You too” and Christine said, “Well, I should get going. See you at rehearsal later?” 

“See you. Um, _parting is such sweet sorrow_.” Jeremy stuttered. 

Christine smiled and walked away. “See you later.”

***

As the universe would have it, the rest of the day passed _extremely and agonizingly slowly_. 

Christine had her earbuds in playing Heathers when Jeremy entered the auditorium. He sat down next to her, the stiff velvet seat creaking as he pulled it down. 

“Oh. We meet again.” Christine paused her music and took out her earbuds. 

“H-hey. Is this where they meet for play rehearsal?” Jeremy seemed nervous.

A joke seemed like a good way to put him at ease. “No, this is where we meet for the swim team.” She laughed. Jeremy didn’t say anything and a look of panic crossed his face. “I’m joking.” She added after a moment. 

“I’m Jeremy. Jeremy Heere. My real name’s Jeremiah but that’s a mouthful so you can call me Jeremy. I’m gonna shut up now.” Jeremy’s face went scarlet. 

Christine giggled. “You’re funny.” 

“Thanks. I try to be.” Jeremy gave a forced-sounding chuckle. 

“So, Jeremy...” Christine began, trying to act casual and _not_ like she was trying to save him from making the biggest mistake of his life, which he didn’t know he would make yet. “What made you want to sign up for play rehearsal?”

“Oh, I just, y’know. Wanted to, uh, branch out. Try something new. Do they... do a lot of plays here?” Jeremy fidgeted with the sleeve of his cardigan. 

“Oh, well, usually they do a short play at the beginning of October, and usually that premiers towards the second week of November, the Tuesday right before Thanksgiving break. Then after Thanksgiving break is when they hold auditions for the spring musical, and that usually premieres in late April or early May. There’s also the improv club, which meets year-round and usually does a show around Christmas.” Christine paused for breath. 

“Wow. I didn’t realize the theatre department was so... active.” Jeremy remarked.

“It is, but a lot of people still don’t know about it, even after that fiasco-“ Christine stopped abruptly. 

Jeremy raised an eyebrow and looked confused. “What... fiasco?” 

“Oh, uh...” Christine’s palms began to sweat nervously. Something told her that _I’m actually from the future sent back in time by some means of magic to stop you from swallowing a supercomputer that very well holds the power to destroy the entire human race_ wouldn’t be an acceptable answer. 

“Did something happen in last year’s play?” 

“Yes! The lights!” Christine blurted out. “A spotlight fell down in the middle of the show.” 

“Oh gosh. Was anyone hurt?” 

“No, thank God. But we had to stop the show early.” She was counting that Jeremy wasn’t too in the loop with any play kids. 

“That sounds horrible. Is the light... is it stable now?” Jeremy cast a nervous glance at the spotlight.

“Yeah. They replaced it over the summer so it’s all good.” Christine said. 

Madeline finished her monologue and was met by claps from the group of kids surrounding her. A few more latecomers trickled in, but not nearly enough for a full play.

“We’ve been short on membership lately.” Christine remarked. “I guess it’s just that group over there. And the two of us, I guess-“ 

She was interrupted by the loud noise of the door swinging open, which caused Jeremy to jump. Brooke, Chloe, Jenna, Rich, and Jake entered the room in a burst of noise.

“Woo-hoo!” Rich yelled, pumping his fist in the air. 

“Let’s start this party!” Jake whooped enthusiastically.

“I didn’t know this theatre was here.” Brooke remarked. 

“Oh thank God, the popular students have arrived.” Mr. Reyes said, causing Christine to turn and look at him. “Uh, hello, everyone. My name is Mr. Reyes. You may recognize me from drama class, or from my full-time job at the Hobby Lobby.” 

“Woo! Mr. Reyes!” Madeline clapped, an action that several other drama students repeated, including Christine. 

Mr. Reyes seemed genuinely touched by their reaction. “Thank you. For many years, it’s been my dream to stage a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Christine zoned out as Mr. Reyes talked about how the school told him that unless he increased the popularity of the drama department, they would divert the funds to the Frisbee Golf Team (a comment which earned a “Well, we could damn well use them” from Jake). Which was why the play was going to have zombies instead of fairies.   
(Yes, Christine was still bitter about that, even though she knew it was going to happen this time around.)

“Now, let’s take a five-minute break so I can eat my Hot Pocket.” 

A spur of chatter broke from the kids as Mr. Reyes walked out. The popular kids followed him, with the same flurry of noise as their entrance. 

“Woo-hoo!” Jake yelled.

“Theatre is easy, yo!” Rich bumped fists with Jake.

“So, what’s the story with Jake and Madeline?” Mr. Reyes turned to Brooke, who looked mildly uncomfortable.

Jake hung back, and walked up to Christine. “Hey. Uh, you were in the play last year, weren’t you?” 

“Huh?” 

“The play? You were in it. I, uh, I think you were the girl who died.” Jake seemed nervous, very out of character for him.

“Oh.” Christine’s eyes widened in recognition. “You mean Juliet?”

Jeremy stood up. “I, uh, I have to go to the bathroom.” 

Christine stood up. “Actually, I have to go get something from the vending machine.” 

A look of disappointment crossed Jake’s face. “Oh. Cool. Cool.” 

Christine felt slightly bad, but that was overshadowed by her determination to succeed. She booked it down the hallway, and instead of taking a left to the vending machine, she darted into the boy’s bathroom which was, thankfully, empty.

Christine went to a vacant stall, crouched down on top of the toilet, and waited. Soon enough, someone walked in, and Christine looked down at their shoes to find a pair of white sneakers. Jeremy’s sneakers. 

There was the sound of water running, and Jeremy cursing and scrubbing. 

“I told you not to wash that off.” Rich’s voice broke the silence, and Christine almost helped. 

“Where’s my homework?” Jeremy groaned. 

“Hey, tall-ass, I’m talking to you!” Rich yelled. 

Christine leaned forward and peered through the crack in the door. From what she could see, Jeremy had been trying to scrub the writing off his backpack. 

“Why do you keep calling me that? I’m not even that tall.” 

“You could be. If you weren’t hunched over scared all the time. The only thing more pathetic is the way you’re sneaking off to a stall to get away from me.” 

Jeremy stopped walking. “Y’know, I just remembered I don’t have to pee after all.” He started walking out, but Rich grabbed him by the arm. 

“Don’t move.” He said forcefully. His grip lightened, but his glare didn’t. “You don’t remember me freshman year, do you?” 

Jeremy started, “You didn’t go here freshman-“

Rich banged his fist against the wall, cutting Jeremy off. “I did!” He yelled. “You just didn’t notice!” What was odd was that now, he spoke with a lisp. He slapped himself across the face, almost as if chastising himself. “Nobody did.” He said, quietly, lisp gone. 

Jeremy said, “Truly sorry. Oh geez, look at the time. Catch you later?” 

“I used to be like you, Jeremy. A loser. Gross. Pathetic. Unable to get laid. Hopeless.” Rich spoke again, quiet and dangerous. 

“Hey!” Jeremy seemed offended. 

Rich continued. “You know how I got to be like this? I’ll tell you. I got a SQUIP.” 

A shudder ran down Christine’s spine. 

“You got... quick?” 

Rich rolled his eyes. “Not _quick_. SQUIP. S-Q-U-I-P.”

Jeremy shrugged. “I’ve just never heard of it before.” 

“That’s the point.” Rich said. “This is some top-secret-can’t-even-look-it-up-on-the-Internet-shit.” He lowered his voice to the point where Christine had to strain to hear him. “It’s Japanese. Quantum nano-tech. A supercomputer embedded in the pill will travel through your bloodstream and tell you what to do.”

“That’s not even possible-“ Jeremy began, but was cut off by Rich shoving him against the wall. 

“Shut _up_ , tall-ass!” 

Jeremy winced, and Rich let him go. “Sorry. Old habits. Look, I apologize for treating you like human garbage all these years.”

Jeremy muttered, “That’s rich.” 

“Oh, ha-ha.” Rich rolled his eyes. “Point being, I only did it ‘cuz my SQUIP said I had to. But now... it’s saying you’re not a bad guy. That you might want a SQUIP of your own. Of course, if you’re not interested...” 

“Wait, wait. It’s... drugs?” 

“Were you not listening? This is better than drugs. Advanced stuff. Not even on the same level as drugs. If you pay, you can go from sad to interesting just like _that_.” Rich snapped his fingers. “I got a hookup. Payless Shoe Store at the Menlo Park mall. Bring six hundred.” 

“ _Dollars_?” Jeremy asked, sounding aghast. 

“It’s worth it. Monday, bring the money. You’ll see.”

Rich walked out, and Jeremy did the same shortly after. Christine exited a few minutes later, after writing something down in her journal. Because now, she remembered. Jeremy had *heard* about the SQUIP from Rich, but...

She’d hurriedly scribbled something down, in purple ink. 

_Jeremy bought the SQUIP from a guy in a Payless Shoe Store at the Menlo Park Mall._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up! But as everyone knows, SQUIPs don’t give up without a fight.


	4. At the Mall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet the other two POV Characters and SQUIPs don’t go down without a fight.

And here she was, trying to look casual as she stood outside a Payless Shoe Store in the Menlo Park Mall at four in the afternoon on a Friday. She tried to look casual, like a teen who was just loitering.

It was a good thing she was an actress. 

She couldn’t here Jeremy talking. Probably intentional, seeing as it was an illegal nano-drug and all. Christine was a little embarrassed to admit she didn’t know much about SQUIPs. She’d only had hers for a short period of time during the play. 

“...we just got in an order of Crocs that are lit AF.” A salesman’s loud voice broke the silence. 

Christine tried to look casual as Jeremy walked out. When she snuck a glance at his hand, she saw that he was holding... a pill. More specifically, a gray pill. It didn’t look anything special. But if there was anything Christine had learned from the theatre, it was that appearances were deceiving. 

Christine gripped her purse. She’d gone over her plan in her mind a million times, and she’d managed to split it into two parts. 

Part one: Get the SQUIP pill away from Jeremy.

Carefully, Christine unzipped her purse. 

“Shit. Michael, I don’t have any Mountain Dew. Got a dollar on you?”

“You owe me one.” Michael fished a dollar out of his pocket. 

“Thanks.” Jeremy took the dollar and walked towards the vending machine which was a bright red with the white Coca-Cola logo on the front. 

Time to put her plan into action. 

Christine walked out in front of Jeremy, speed-walking and looking down at her phone like she was in a hurry. 

She collided with Jeremy, and as she did, she tipped her purse, causing its contents to spill out and clatter all over the tiled floor. 

“Ah!” Jeremy yelled as he fell to the ground. 

“Oh my gosh!” Christine feigned shock, putting her hands over her mouth. “I am so, so sorry!” She knelt down next to Jeremy. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah-“ Jeremy stopped short when he looked up and saw Christine. “Oh. Hey, Christine.” His eyes widened when he saw her stuff scattered on the ground. “Oh, jeez, uh, let me help you.” 

While they were grabbing Christine’s stuff off the floor, Christine saw that Jeremy had dropped the pill on the floor. Just as she’d hoped.

She lifted her head, checking to make sure Jeremy was occupied. He was trying to pick up a bunch of glitter gel pens, and not looking her way at all. 

She reached to grab the pill, ignoring the small pang of guilt at deceiving Jeremy. She said a silent apology in her head, and grabbed the pill, hiding it in her fist. 

“And, here you go.” Jeremy handed her the glitter pens. “That’s... everything.” 

“Thanks.” Christine reached out to take the pens with the hand that didn’t hold the SQUIP pill, and the tips of her fingers brushed against Jeremy’s. 

He jolted his hand back, sending the pens clattering to the ground. Then he gasped, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d done. 

“Jesus, I’m so sorry, I-“ 

“Jeremy.” Christine gave him a warm smile. “It’s okay.” 

Jeremy’s face turned red. He was cute when he got flustered. “T-thanks.” He picked up the pens off the ground and handed them to Christine, who put them safely in her purse. Jeremy cleared his throat. “I should, uh, I should get going.” 

Christine nodded and stood up. Jeremy followed. Christine stuck out her hand, smiling. “See you at school.” 

Jeremy shook her hand, and his palms were sweaty. “Right. See ya... Christine.” He smiled shyly, and Christine waved before walking away.

She waited a considerable distance before opening her fist and taking a good, long look at the pill. 

Now that she saw it, it was clear that there were five letters on the pill: SQUIP. Christine scowled, and threw the pill down on the ground and stomped on it. When she lifted her foot, however, her eyes widened. The pill was completely intact, not even a chip missing. She stomped on it again, same result. Picking the pill up off of the ground, Christine realized that this wasn’t just a pill, it was a computer. As such, it was probably very durable. Christine sighed. There didn’t seem to be a reliable way to destroy it. She supposed that was to prevent the computer inside from being damaged easily. That was just dandy for the inventor of this pill, but not so much for her at the moment. 

Something caught Christine’s eye: a dark green trash can outside the Pinkberry. White letters on the side spelled out _Keep our mall clean!_

Perfect. The pill would be thrown out with the trash and crushed in a dump somewhere. It would never be able to hurt her friends. 

Never. 

With a flourish, Christine tossed the pill into the garbage can. It had recently been emptied, and the gray spot was stark against the black bag. 

Christine felt a pang of guilt when she remembered that Jeremy had spent *four hundred dollars* on the pill. Four hundred dollars was a lot of money. 

But remembering what that little pill could do changed her mind. 

Christine cast a forlorn glance over in the direction Jeremy had walked away. 

_I’m sorry, Jere. I had to. Please, please forgive me._

***

Brooke trailed behind Chloe as the two of them walked out of the Pinkberry, Chloe sipping on a Sprite. Brooke was holding an empty paper cup that had once held strawberry fro-yo, now what little remained was melted and swirling around the bottom of the cup. A sole raspberry remained at the bottom, and Brooke grabbed it with two fingers and popped it into her mouth. 

“Brooke. Keep up, will you?” Chloe casts a sidelong glance over her shoulder, her gaze perfectly cool and collected. She’s using that voice again, the voice that sounds bored and nonchalant... to the untrained ear. 

But Brooke knows Chloe better than that. She knows. She’s learned to pick up on all the little nuances, the things Chloe does to convey absolute control and power in just a few words. 

Yeah. Brooke’s not an idiot, contrary to popular belief. 

“Brooke?” Chloe’s voice has a tinge more ice to it this time, indicating that she was getting angry. 

“Oh. One sec. I need to throw my cup away. Just keep walking. I’ll catch up with you.” Brooke says. 

Chloe shrugs and takes a sip of Sprite. She keeps walking, while Brooke doubles back. She throws her cup into the trash can, but the cup gets caught. 

“Ugh.” Brooke reaches down into the can to dislodge her cup, hoping to God above that no one from school sees her with her hand in a mall garbage can. The sleeve of her cardigan brushes against the side of the bag, getting some spilt strawberry yogurt that splattered there all over the fabric. “Ew! That was my favorite cardigan!” She jerks her wrist back, and that’s when she sees it. 

A spot of gray. 

It’s the only other thing in the can besides her cup. It’s narrow, oblong. 

Her common sense is telling her to just leave it alone. That it’s probably been thrown away for a reason. 

But there’s a part of her that’s curious. It’s not every day you see these mysterious things. Maybe she’s read too many fairytales, but Brooke is a believer in destiny. She takes the mysterious gray object out of the can. 

Upon closer inspection, it was a pill. A pill with five letters on it. Brooke squinted to read them, and found that the five letters across the pill spelled out a word. 

_SQUIP._

***

Rich felt the dissent in his SQUIP as he watched Christine throw away the SQUIP pill from the window of a Hot Topic across from the Pinkberry. 

**Unbelievable.**

_How did she know?_ Rich thinks. 

**By all known logic, she shouldn’t. This... deal was a secret.**

_And I didn’t even get the money from Jeremy. He bought it from some other guy instead. A total waste._

**Or perhaps not.**

_What?_

**Look up, Richard.**

Rich did as he was told. He saw Brooke Lohst, peering into the trash can. Even from across the hall, he could see her eyes were wide.

**Jeremy... was never a suitable subject to begin with. What we need is someone... more.**

_What do you mean?_

**Someone who’s not on the bottom, but rather, in second place. Who’s desperate to go further. To be better.**

_Are you saying..._

**Talk to her.**

_But-_

A sharp shock went up his spine. **Do as I say, Richard.**

Rich nodded. He walked out of the store, which seemed to be a relief to the cashier. A few more minutes and he would have gotten kicked out. Brooke was turning the pill around in her hand, not paying attention to Rich at all. 

In as smooth a voice as he could muster, Rich said, “Well. What do we have here?” 

“Rich!” Brooke jolted up like she’d been caught. 

“Whatcha got there?” Rich peered at the pill in Brooke’s hand. 

“I think it’s some sort of pill. It says... _SQUIP_.” Brooke looked up at Rich. 

**Nod your head. Pretend to just now understand what she has.**

“Ah.” Rich nodded his head. “Oh. It’s your lucky day, Brooke.” 

Brooke looked at him confused. “What... what do you mean?” 

Rich tapped the pill. “Normally, that’s expensive. High-profile.” 

Brooke’s eyes widened and her voice dropped low. “Is it... is it a drug?” Her voice was tinged with excitement. 

**Chuckle.**

Rich chuckled. “Brooke, Brooke. It’s better than drugs.” Sure that he’s captured her attention, he lowered his voice even more and whispered in her ear, “It’s from Japan.” 

“Japanese?” Brooke whispered.

Rich broke into a wide grin. “Yep.” 

Brooke raised an eyebrow. “How do I know you’re not yanking my chain?”

**Ask if you would ever lie to her.**

“Brooke, Brooke. Would I ever lie to you?” 

Brooke narrowed her eyes. “You’re trying to solicit unlabeled foreign drugs to me. I can’t say much about your moral integrity.” 

**She’s losing interest. Get to the point.**

“Brooke, the point is this little puppy can help you achieve all your goals.” 

“That’s not possible. It’s just... I mean, drugs can’t make all your dreams come true.” 

“This isn’t a drug, Brooke. Sure, it looks like one. But that little pill? It actually holds a miniature supercomputer.” 

“How... how is that even possible?” Brooke’s eyes were wide with wonder, like a little kid on Christmas morning. 

“They did it with phones. Why shouldn’t they be able to do it with this?” 

Brooke sighed. “You have a point.” 

Rich shrugged. “Look, I’m not gaining or losing anything. If you wanna try it, get a can of Mountain Dew. Green. It has to be green.” 

Brooke nodded, clenching the pill in her hand. “Right. Right. Uh, see you later, Rich.” 

Rich waves goodbye. “See ya.” 

As he’s walking away, he feels his SQUIP smirking. 

**Excellent work, Richard. We’re back on track.**

***

Brooke stares at the pill in her hand. She’s texted Chloe, letting her know that Brooke had gotten caught up with something and to just go on home without her. Her dad wasn’t going to be pleased with her for making him drive all the way to come get her. Maybe she could Uber. She had 50 dollars left over from her last paycheck.

Brooke stared at the can of green Mountain Dew in her hand. She’d bought it at a vending machine. On the way, she’d passed the loser kid from school, the kid whose name she didn’t really know but was sure it started with a J. Jared? Yeah. That was it. Jared had been with his friend, the weird anti-social headphones kid. Jared had a panicked look on his face, and he and his friend were searching the floor like they’d lost something. 

And now Brooke’s here. Standing in the woman’s bathroom between the Sephora and the Claire’s. The bathroom is empty except for her and the pill seems to weigh a hundred pounds in her hand. 

_Just do it now._ She tells herself as she breathes in. 

She takes another swig of Mountain Dew, and lets it swish around in her mouth. She looks at herself in the mirror, and she sees what everyone else sees. Brooke Lohst: second everything. Second-prettiest, second-most-popular, second-best. What would it be like, she wonders, to be _first_ for a change? 

She stares at the pill and, without giving herself time to have second thoughts, pops it in her mouth and swallows it. 

Instantly, her mouth fills with a sharp minty taste, like she’s swallowed a whole bunch of Altoid mints. But other than that... nothing. 

Brooke sighs. “I knew it.” She says aloud to no one in particular. “I knew that lying, dirty, good-for-nothing Rich Goranski would pull one over on me like that!” She slams her fist into the pseudo-marble of the bathroom counter. “God, that son of a _bitch_!” 

She doesn’t usually swear. It’s shocking even to her. 

After a few more minutes of stewing in silent rage, she walks outside. The first person she sees is Jake, and the second is Christine. 

“And, it’s really a coincidence that we ran into each other.” Jake’s talking to Christine.

“Yeah.” Christine bites her lip. 

“Hey, do you like Sbarro?” Jake asks. 

“I, uh, geez. This is embarrassing. I’ve never been.” Christine pulls at the hem of her dress. 

“You’ve never been? You’re in for a treat.” Jake smiles, a real, actual, genuine smile. “My treat.” 

Christine says, “Jake, that’s too generous.”

“Hey, it’s fine. I just got my paycheck today.” Jake shrugs.

Suddenly, a jolt of pain runs up Brooke’s spine. She screams, drawing the attention of Jake and Christine. 

“Woah, woah.” Jake runs up to her as she falls to the ground, catching her before she hits the floor. 

“Brooke! Brooke, are you okay?” Christine sounds panicked. 

Suddenly, a voice rings out in her head, unlike anything she’s ever heard before. 

**Calibration in process. Please excuse some mild discomfort.**

“W-what?” Brooke barely has time to say anything before another surge of pain runs through her body, causing her to scream. 

“Brooke! What’s the matter?” Jake’s eyes are wide. 

“I think she’s having a seizure!” A bystander yells. “Give her some space!”

**Calibration complete. Access procedure initiated.**

“No, I’m fine-“ Brooke starts, but is interrupted by the voice in her head.

**Discomfort levels may increase.**

And then there’s pain. Pain that causes Brooke to scream and grab her head as her body spasms. 

**Accessing neural memory. Accessing muscle memory. Access procedure complete.**

The pain fades away. Brooke’s body is no longer in spasms, but nervous tears still well up in her eyes. 

“Hey, hey. Easy.” The bystander from before helps Jake ease Brooke onto a nearby bench. Someone hands her a bottle of water, and Christine helps Brooke’s shaky hands open it. 

As the water pours down her throat, Brooke tries to calm herself. This is hardly the first seizure she’s had: she had one when she was eight, and they were pretty bad when she was thirteen. But she’s been on new meds, and she hadn’t gotten one for almost eighteen months now. 

The voice is back, and the words it says make everything crystal clear. 

**Brooke Lohst, welcome to your Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor.**

**Your SQUIP.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear. We’re really in a pickle now. 
> 
> And if you’re confused, the three main POV characters are going to be Brooke, Christine, and Rich.


	5. A Different Person

Brooke had managed to convince the bystanders that she didn’t need to go to the hospital. A good thing, too. Jake had seemed like he was five minutes away from calling an ambulance. But other than her trembling hands and the nervous tears that refused to leave, she was pretty much fine.

Except for the supercomputer that had just implanted itself in her brain. 

Maybe she wasn’t fine. 

The SQUIP, whatever it was called, had so far been a literal pain. She didn’t exactly have high hopes for the future. 

_Maybe this is what I get for taking illegal nano-drugs._ She thought, picking at a torn bit of the nylon cushion of the bench she was sitting on. 

**How many times does it have to be said: I’m not a drug.**

Brooke jumped and looked around to see who could have said that, but there was nobody except for a few mall patrons, and none of them were looking at her.

**It’s me, Brooke. Your SQUIP.**

“Are you... inside my head?” She whispered, eyes widening.

**Correct. But I can assume a physical form, if you wish.**

Brooke nodded, and suddenly a woman appeared in front of her. But not just any woman... Beyoncé. Well, Beyoncé wearing a white leather jacket, white top with black lines in a circuitry pattern, and white jeans. 

“You’re- You look like Beyoncé.” Brooke said, mouth open in shock. A woman nearby her turned and smiled, obviously thinking Brooke had intended that for her. 

The SQUIP nodded. **My default form. You can also set me for Keanu Reeves, Sean Connery, Jack Nicholson, and Sexy Anime Female.**

“Nope. No way. Beyoncé’s good.” Brooke shook her head. People in the mall were staring at her with funny looks on their faces. “Can they... can they all see you?” 

**No. I exist in your mind, and only in your mind. All they see is you, talking to yourself like a madwoman. Don’t do that. Just think to me.**

_How the hell-_

**Just like that.**

Brooke yelped. _You heard that?_

**I am inside your brain, Brooke. We’re literally sharing the space.**

_Creepy._

**No, it’s just standard programming.** The Beyoncé-SQUIP began to circle Brooke like a hawk circled its prey before diving. **Aesthetically pleasing figure. Conventionally attractive features. Slightly above average intelligence.** The SQUIP smiled. **This is good. I can work with this.**

_Are you gonna, like, force me to act how you want?_

**Not at all. Think of it as... I’m a painter, and you’re a blank canvas. With my help, you can reach your fullest potential. That’s what SQUIPs did for Rich.**

_What?_

**Rich went to your school freshman year.**

_No he didn’t. He transferred here sophomore year. That’s what he told everyone._

**His SQUIP told him to say that. It was a way of cutting ties with his past self. Before he got his SQUIP, he was a nobody.**

_Hold up. Are you calling me a nobody?_

**Oh no, no, Brooke. Not at all. You’re far from a nobody. Second-most popular girl in school, in fact.**

_I hate it when people say that._

**You hate it when people state facts?**

_No, just-_ She groaned. 

**You’re tired of being second-best.**

_Exactly. I don’t want people to look at me and think ‘oh, there’s Chloe’s friend Brooke!’ I want them to think ‘There’s Brooke!’ No one sees me. They see Chloe Valentine’s best friend._

**Would you like me to set that as your new objective?**

_What?_

**Becoming more popular than Chloe.**

Brooke took a deep breath. _Yes._

**It’s set. Come on. We have a lot to do if we want to get you ready for school on Monday.**

***

Jeremy looked, to put it simply, like a mess. He looked like he hadn’t slept at all, and Christine had an inkling what was the cause of that. 

She couldn’t help but feel guilty. Even though she knew that if Jeremy had taken that pill, it would have been bad. Part of her wished she had thought up a way to stop Jeremy from spending four hundred dollars on the pill. But in the heat of the moment, it hadn’t even crossed her mind.

Michael had been trying to cheer Jeremy up all lunch period, without much success. Currently, he was in the middle of telling about how he’d once spent twenty dollars on marijuana that turned out to be oregano.

“And then he didn’t let me return it! Can you believe that? He was an ass.” Michael finished his story and grabbed a pair of chopsticks off the table to eat a pack of sushi that definitely hadn’t come from the school cafeteria. 

“You spent three hundred and eighty dollars less than me on it, though.” Jeremy moped, pushing his fruit salad around with a fork and picking out the grapes. “And that was oregano, not a fucking nano-drug.”

“Hey, everyone makes mistakes.” Michael shrugged. 

“Not like this.” Jeremy moved a slice of honeydew to get to a grape. 

“Hey, look for the silver lining. Remember what I told you about that Discovery article?” Michael pushed Jeremy’s shoulder playfully. 

“Not the time.”

“Sorry.” Michael took a sip of his slushee which, again, wasn’t sold in the school cafeteria. “Hey, I know. The best cure for sadness is a nice round of Apocalypse of the Damned!” He broke into a wide grin. 

“I guess.” Jeremy didn’t look too convinced. 

Then Michael looked up, saw her watching, and gave her a funny look. Maybe she’d had a guilty expression on her face, or maybe it was the fact that she’d been watching them from afar. 

Christine did the only thing she could think of: she waved. Michael smacked Jeremy on the shoulder and pointed to Christine. Jeremy looked back and locked eyes with Christine, which made him nervously smile and wave back. 

After the lunch period, Christine approached Jeremy in the hallway. There was always a study hall after lunch, and on a normal day, Christine would have spent it in the auditorium. But these last few days had been anything but normal. 

“Hey, Jeremy?” Christine asked cautiously, trying to choose her words carefully. “Is everything... are you alright?” 

“What? Oh, yeah, just a little off, I guess.” Jeremy shrugged.

“You can’t fool me. What’s up?” Christine motioned for a nearby bench, and the two of them sat down.

Jeremy inhaled. “I lost something. It was really expensive, too.” 

“Oh geez. I’m so sorry.” Christine bit her lip. “What was it?” 

Jeremy sighed. “I don’t know exactly what it was, but... it’s gone now.” 

“How’d you lose it? Maybe we could retrace your steps and find it again.” Christine suggested, even though that was the last thing she wanted to do.

“The last time I had it, I was at the mall.” Jeremy rubbed his temple. “Then I bumped into you, and walked off and when I looked down it... it was gone.” Jeremy’s eyes widened and Christine’s stomach lurched. 

“Maybe I took it.” Christine shrugged. Jeremy gave her a confused look and, speaking in a British accent, she continued. “I mean, maybe I’m secretly working for the Queen and whatever you lost was stolen from the royal family years ago, and my assignment was to regain it for Queen and Country.” 

Jeremy laughed and took on an accent that sounded like a mix between Russian and Poland. “Or maybe you took it for the motherland, no?” 

Christine snorted and changed to a thick Brooklyn accent. “Maybe I retrieved it for the mob, eh? How ya feel about stealin’ from the mob?” 

Jeremy collapsed into a fit of laughter. “Jeez, where do you come up with that stuff, anyway?” 

Christine shrugged. “I’m an actor, Jeremy. It’s what we do best.” 

“You’re really good at it. You know, I saw you last year. In the play, I mean. As, uh, as Juliet.” Jeremy scratched the back of his neck. “You were good. Like, really good.” 

Christine smiled. “Thanks.” 

Jeremy continued. “Not like I was stalking you, or anything, because that would be, uh, weird. I didn’t even know you last year. Um, Michael, his boyfriend was working tech for the show, and he brought me to come see.” 

“Oh yeah. Dustin.” Christine nodded. Dustin was very open about his relationship with Michael.

“You know Dustin Kropp?” Jeremy seemed to be unsure if he was joking or not. 

“Yeah, he’s my cousin.” Christine answered. 

“Woah, really? Your cousin is dating my best friend?” Jeremy picked at an acne scar on his upper cheek.

Christine giggled. “Yep. Small world, isn’t it?” She looked at the acne scar. “You shouldn’t pick. It’ll bleed.” 

Jeremy pulled his hand away and looked at it with surprise. “Jesus, was I picking? Sorry.” 

Christine shook her head rapidly. “No, no. You don’t need to apologize.”

“It’s just, when I get nervous, I tend to pick at stuff to keep my hands busy. Usually I have a fidget cube to stop me from picking at scars and shi... and crap, but I left it at home today.” Jeremy looked slightly embarrassed. 

“Oh. You use fidget cubes?” Christine perked up.

“Yeah...” Jeremy’s voice trailed off. 

“Oh, I don’t mean that in a bad way or anything, I just-“ Christine took her pastel fidget spinner out of her pocket.

“Oh.” Jeremy’s eyes widen. “Oh, you use those too?” 

Christine nodded. “Yep!” 

“That’s awesome!” Jeremy yelled, but shrunk back down when Rich gave them a weird look. 

Christine remembered something she had in her backpack. “I always keep an extra around here...” She began rooting around in the front pocket. “Here it is!” She took out an emerald green fidget spinner and handed it to Jeremy. “You can use it for now.” 

Jeremy’s eyes widened. “Really?!” He adjusted his glasses and grabbed the spinner. “I don’t want to be a bother-“ 

“It’s fine. It’s just my extra.” Christine smiled.

“Thank you so much, Christine. You’re a literal godsend.” Jeremy broke into a wide grin that made Christine’s heart leap. 

“Anytime, Jeremy.” 

***

Rich knew something had to be up. 

Brooke was acting different. She was like an entirely different person. Usually she trailed a few steps behind Chloe, always looking down at the ground shyly. But now, she wasn’t walking with Chloe anymore. In fact, Rich hadn’t seen them interact all day, highly unusual for the “best friends”. 

Her style of clothing had changed too. Usually, she wore her trademark yellow cardigan over a plain and simple shirt, and maybe a pair of earrings (Rich had a habit of people-watching). But today, her yellow cardigan was nowhere to be seen, and instead, she wore a burnt orange off-the shoulder top over a white cami, a pair of acid-washed jeans with holes at the knees, and a pair of white flats (had Rich mentioned he had a habit of people-watching?). 

Her whole demeanor was just different. She was more confident, looking people straight in the eye when she spoke to them instead of looking down. She smiled a lot more as well. She seemed more free and happy than she’d been when she left school on Friday.

And Rich had an inkling of why that was the case. 

He approached Brooke during study hall. As he was walking up to her, Jeremy Heere stood up from a nearby bench and yelled “That’s awesome!” 

**Give him a weird look.**

Rich scowled, and Jeremy quickly shrunk back down. He felt a pang of guilt. His SQUIP had been making him pick on Jeremy for the better part of the year now, which Jeremy definitely didn’t deserve. He was a nerd, yeah, but no one deserved to be picked on for that. That guilt quickly faded when he looked at Brooke and remembered what he needed to ask her. 

He tapped her on the shoulder, and she spun around and gave him a relaxed smile. “Hey.” She grinned. “What’s up?” 

“Brooke-“ he began, but was cut off when he heard a voice that wasn’t his or Brooke’s. 

**Up down up down left right A.**

A jolt ran through his body, not painful, more like when a you were in a bumper car and got hit from behind by another bumper car. Suddenly, he understood Brooke. He knew that she was insecure about her own self, and that she desperately wanted to get ahead. 

“You got one!” He broke into a smile. 

Brooke grinned back at him. “Yep.” 

“That’s fantastic!” 

“You know what’s even more fantastic?” Brooke tapped the corkboard behind her, and Rich could see that her nails had been painted a light caramel brown. “They just put up the cast list today!” 

“Already? We just auditioned on Friday.” Rich gazed at the sign up sheet. “Hey! You’re Hermia!” He looked at Brooke. “And I’m Lysander!” 

Brooke nodded. “To be honest, I didn’t think I’d get the part.” 

“So, Brooke, how’s the SQUIP working out for you?” Rich lowered his voice to a whisper so he wasn’t yelling about illegal nano-drugs in the middle of the crowded hallway.

“It’s... amazing.” Brooke’s smile was wide. “It’s been helping me and guiding me through my life and- and for the first time I know what I need to say and do.” She whispered, “Hey is your SQUIP also Beyoncé?” 

Rich was about to answer, but then Jake walked up to them and grinned. “Cast list! Sweet!” 

Brooke smiled at Jake and gave Rich a look, letting him know the conversation about SQUIPs was over. 

**Drop it.**

Rich did as his SQUIP said and instead asked Jake “What part did you get?”

“Demetrius.” Jake pumped his fist in the air. 

“Ooh, the cast list?” Christine raced over, and took a look, squealing when she saw the list. “I’m Puck!” She turned to Jeremy and said, “You’re Oberon!” 

Jeremy’s eyes widened. “Really?” 

Christine squealed and gripped Jeremy’s arm. “It’s right there! This is so exciting, Jeremy! I mean, for your first school play and everything...” 

She continued talking on as Jake stared at Christine and Jeremy with a sad look on his face. He walked off, and Rich followed him.

“Hey, man.” Rich caught up to Jake. “What’s up?” 

“Nothing.” Jake said. 

“Is it Christine?” Rich asked. 

“No. What makes you think that?” Jake was trying to look nonchalant. 

“You joined theatre for that girl and now she’s talking to Tall-Ass Heere over there.” Rich pointed over his shoulder.

Jake laughed, but it sounded forced. “I just- I don’t know, dude. I really liked her. I guess a part of me was convinced I had a chance.” 

Rich hated seeing Jake like this. “Come on, Jakey D. Don’t mope like that. It freaks me out when you mope. Seriously.” Jake laughed. Okay, that was a good sign. “Listen, Canigula doesn’t know what she’s missing. You’ll bounce back. There’s always Madeline.” 

“Oh, God, no.” Jake’s eyes widened. “I don’t know how many drinks I downed that night.” 

Part of Rich felt bad for talking shit about Madeline like that, and Jake must have felt it too, because there was a moment of awkward silence before Jake continued.

“Say, Brooke’s looking pretty fine, eh?” 

**I think you’ve achieved your goal of making Jake feel better. You can leave now.**

_Was that a suggestion or an order?_

**You can leave now,** the SQUIP said, and Rich knew the answer to his question.

“Hey, I’ve got to go. Catch you later, Jakey D.” Rich gave Jake a playful punch on the shoulder.

“Catch you later, dude.” Jake patted Rich on the back before walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some stagedorks interaction for ya... these dorks are so fun to write.


	6. A Realization

Christine didn’t sleep much that night. 

Her dreams were plagued by screaming, the image of a pale hand hitting the ground, of a woman in an olive dress sobbing over a fallen soldier. Then, a rush of golden light, and two figures embracing as they reunited. Finally, an ice cold glare and a council looking down at a woman, no, not just any woman. _Her_. The woman in white. A man standing, pointing, screaming as if to say “Guilty!” Tears landing on a polished stone floor. Then, emptiness. And finally, she’d been confronted by a figure that looked like Brooke, had it not been for the odd bluish-green glow to her eyes. Dream-Brooke had said nothing, only stared at Christine with an empty, hollow expression. 

Somehow that was worse than her saying anything.

***

It was at the next play rehearsal that it hit Christine.

Mr. Reyes clapped his hands. “Let’s begin, people. The curtains rise on Athens... Georgia. The Center for Disease Control.” 

Jenna, who played (Doctor) Theseus spoke to Madeline, who played Hippolyta. “Now, far Hippolyta, our nuptial hour draws aspace. Bring me Patient Zero!” 

Brooke as Hermia walked on stage, trailed by Chloe, playing Sick Helena. 

“Cough.” Chloe said flatly, casting a glare at Brooke over her shoulder.

Brooke ignored Chloe’s dirty look and turned to Jenna. “Doctor, why is her cheek so pale? How chance these roses fade so fast?” Now, Christine didn’t like to compare actors, but Brooke was doing a much better job of selling it than Chloe, who seemed more interested in her nails than the scene. 

Jenna paused before starting her monologue. “She’s been attacked in the wastelands. Some say it’s faeries. Some say it’s the spirits. And some say it’s the return of the hostile alien race who visited our planet one thousand years ago this midsummer...” 

As she continued on, Jeremy whispered to Christine, “Brooke’s been acting pretty strange, hasn’t she?” 

“No, her acting’s fine.” Christine whispered back.

“Not that, I mean her... general demeanor.” Jeremy pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. 

“Oh. Oh.” Christine’s eyes widened as she realized what Jeremy meant. “Yeah.” 

“Like, she’s been different.” 

“Yeah... ever since she had that seizure at the mall, she’s been acting kind of strange.” Christine thumbed through her script.

Jeremy whipped around to face her. “What?” 

“Oh. Brooke had a seizure at the mall on Friday.” Christine whispered so no one would overhear.

“Oh my gosh.” Jeremy bit his lip. “That’s awful.” 

“She seemed fine, at the time. But... I don’t know. Can seizures change your behavior?” Christine asked.

“I don’t know, I’ve never had one before.” Jeremy sighed. 

Christine decided to change the subject. “Have you... did you find the thing you lost?” She asked. 

“No.” Jeremy replied. “But I did some thinking, and maybe... maybe it was for the best that I lost it. I didn’t know what that thing was gonna do-“ He clapped his hands over his mouth, then winced as if the damage was done. “...to me.” He finished. 

“Wha-“ Christine began, but was cut off by Jeremy. 

“Christine, you have to promise to not tell anyone this. But, the thing I lost... it was... well, it was called a SQUIP.” Jeremy continued. “I heard about them from Rich in the boy’s bathroom, and they’re this pill that has a little supercomputer inside it, and the supercomputer is supposed to implant itself inside your brain and tell you how to be cool and sh... and stuff. I know this sounds super crazy and you don’t have to believe me and it’s perfectly logical, really, if you think I’m insane and I’m really rambling on and on but I-“ 

“Jeremy.” Christine held out her hand and grabbed his gently, cutting him off and making him blush. “I believe you.” 

“Really?” Jeremy asked, eyes wide with disbelief. 

Christine nodded. “But Jeremy, why would you want that pill?” This had been on Christine’s mind ever since she got sent back. 

“I...” Jeremy sighed. “I don’t... I’m not like you, Christine. I care about what people think about me and right now, everyone thinks I’m a loser. Except for Michael.”

“Jeremy, I don’t think you’re a loser. For what it’s worth.” Christine said. 

“You don’t?” Jeremy looked surprised.

“Of course I don’t! Jeremy, you’re sweet, and funny, and caring. I don’t think anyone that’s like that is a loser.” Christine smiled. 

“Thanks, Christine. That... it means a lot.” Jeremy fidgeted with the sleeve of his cardigan.

“And, end scene!” Mr. Reyes clapped. “Now, Hot Pocket break, everyone.” 

The crowd of students waiting backstage dispersed. Some walked onstage and sat down, others plunked themselves right down onto the ground, and still others walked out the side door into the hallway. 

The now loud chatter made it easier to mask their conversation. 

“Y’know, it’s funny.” Jeremy said. “Rich... when he told me about the SQUIP...” He cast a glance at Brooke. “He said that before he got his SQUIP, he was a nobody.” 

Christine nodded. “And?” 

“And he said that his SQUIP made him act ‘correctly’, as he put it.” 

Christine nodded. “So it... it controlled him.” 

“Basically.” Jeremy bit his lip nervously. 

“You’re saying you think...” 

“I mean, I’m not saying that’s what it is, but yes, it’s not entirely crazy to think that...” 

“Brooke might be SQUIPped.” They both finished their sentences at the same time. 

“I’m just saying. I know it sounds crazy, but-“ 

“How would she get the SQUIP, though?” Christine stood up, her heart pounding. The floor seemed to sway under her feet, like she was in a boat being pitched around through rough waters. It felt as if one wrong move would send her toppling.

“Maybe she bought it?” Jeremy suggested, then shook his head. “No.” 

A terrible panic gripped Christine’s chest. _I threw it away outside the Pinkberry and Brooke and Chloe always hang out at the Pinkberry and what if-_ She didn’t want to finish her thought. “I have to go to the bathroom.” She darted out into the hallway before Jeremy could say anything.

As soon as she got into a stall, she slumped down on the toilet seat. “God, I’m such an idiot!” She yelled to no one in particular. 

_Brooke might be SQUIPped and it’s all my fault._

“Calm down, Christine.” She spoke to herself. “Maybe she’s not SQUIPped. You don’t know if she’s SQUIPped. You’re probably just making a big fuss over nothing-“ 

The door to the bathroom opened and Christine fell silent. Footsteps echoed off the concrete walls, and then she heard a voice. 

“That was awesome!” Brooke squealed. Christine waited for someone else to respond, but there was only the silence that somehow managed to be so loud. 

“Did you see how many people payed attention to me?” Brooke said again, causing Christine’s heart to sink. 

Brooke suddenly let out a yelp, making Christine jump. “You just shocked me! What was that for?” 

Another bout of silence before Brooke groaned and said, “Relax! No one’s in here.” 

Christine held her breath.

“Fine. Fine. I’ll just think to you from now on.” 

Then Brooke was silent. After what seemed like an eternity, she walked back out, and Christine, a panic rising in her chest, followed soon after.

She ran into Jeremy in the hallway, whose eyes were wide. “Christine? You don’t look so good.” His face flushed scarlet as soon as the words came out of his mouth. “I don’t mean that you don’t look good! You look good! Just not _good_!

“I know. I know what you mean.” Christine cut Jeremy off, harsher than usual. 

“So what’s wrong?” Jeremy asked. 

“Brooke was in the bathroom sort of... talking to herself.” 

“I mean, why did you stand up and run off like that? You seemed so freaked out.”

Christine’s palms became sweaty. “I...” She gulped. “I guess I was just freaked out. I mean, finding out someone in your school is probably possessed by some freaky nano-drug...” 

“Is stressful?” Jeremy suggested. 

“Yeah. I just... I feel like I could have done something.” Christine felt tears prick in her eyes. 

“Hey, hey.” Jeremy pulled Christine in for a hug. “It’s alright, Christine. There’s nothing you could have done.” 

Christine hiccuped. “I could have-“ 

“Hey, I get it.” Jeremy patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. “But we’re gonna get to the bottom of this.” 

“We are?” Christine looked up at Jeremy. 

“Hell yeah!” Jeremy grinned. “Mystery is like, my jam.” 

“But where do we start?” 

“I... my cousin, Jared. He lives in Texas. He knows a thing or two about computers. He’s a pretty solid place to start.” 

***

After Mr. Reyes announced his break, Brooke found herself walking into the empty bathroom. 

“That... was... awesome!” She squealed. “Did you see how many people payed attention to me?” Immediately after, she felt a shock run down her spine. “You just shocked me! What was that for?!”

**You’re speaking to me. Out loud.**

“Relax. No one’s in here.” 

**You never know when someone could walk in.**

Brooke groaned. “Ugh. Fine. I’ll just *think* to you from now on.”

_Happy?_

**I cannot feel emotion. But if I could, I would be satisfied.**

_So what’s next?_

**You made quite the positive impression today. But...**

_But what?_

**Popularity is not easily shifted. Getting people to consider you more popular than Chloe will take time.**

**_How can we speed it along?_ **

****

****

**I’m a supercomputer, not a magician. But there are certain things that could give you a... jump-start, so to say.**

_Like what?_

**Dating.**

Brooke jumped. _What?!_

**According to data I’ve collected, fifty percent of student popularity at Middleborough stems from a relationship to someone who is popular, be it romantic or platonic.**

_...True._ There were people she wouldn’t even talk to if not for the fact that they were dating one of her friends. And people wouldn’t even give her a second thought if she wasn’t best friends with Chloe.

 

**You’re going to have to stop thinking of Chloe as your best friend. She’s an obstacle.**

_But I’ve known her for so long! She wasn’t always like this... not at all. Back in middle school, she was sweet. I remember this one time-_

**Nostalgia is nice, Brooke. But it doesn’t get you anything. You need to focus on the here and now.**

Brooke thought to all the times Chloe had made her cry. All the times she’d lay awake at night wondering if she would ever be as good as her. The pangs in her heart, the _longing_ for someone to see her. To notice her. For someone who didn’t constantly demand silence and support. Somebody who cared. 

_Who did you have in mind?_

The SQUIP smirked and said, **Jake Dillinger.**

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Six! I’m sorry the wait was longer, I was on vacation. But now I’m back!


	7. Flirting

Brooke bit back a yell. _What?_

**Jake Dillinger.** Brooke’s SQUIP rubbed its temple.

_I heard it. Just... why?_ Brooke leaned against the wall. 

**Jake Dillinger is the most popular guy in school. He’s on plenty of sports teams. A relationship with him would be very advantageous.**

_But Jake... Jake’s just my friend. I don’t like him like that._

**Plenty of relationships stem from friendships. Besides, now is the time to act. Jake has recently been rejected by Christine. Jake doesn’t show it, but he puts a lot of his self-worth on other people. This will benefit both you and him.**

_But-_ Brooke stopped herself. She took a glance in the bathroom mirror. The girl reflected back at her was so different. She was confident. Mature. Sexy. Brooke didn’t _feel_ like the girl who stayed in on Saturdays with a small tub of Ben and Jerry’s Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream and watched Sofia the First because it made her laugh. This computer really had made a difference. 

Would it be so bad to date Jake? He was good-looking. Chloe acted like she didn’t care about breaking up with him, but Brooke had enough sleepover talks with her at two in the morning to know that she had some good memories of her relationship...

And there she was, thinking of Chloe again. Even now, Brooke still consulted an imaginary version of Chloe in her mind before doing anything. 

She wasn’t going to do that anymore. 

_Do it._

**Excellent. Neither you nor Jake are in the next scene of the play. Now is the time.**

_Now? But I can’t... I can’t flirt with a guy!_

**Don’t worry.** The SQUIP gave a smile that was... somewhat warm. **Just follow my lead.**

Brooke walked out of the bathroom and back through the side door. She stood in the corner near a prop table that was currently empty, save for a gum wrapper and a plastic princess crown. 

**Tear ducts activate.**

Brooke started crying. Not full-on sobbing, but enough to be heard. 

_What? What’s going on? Why am I crying?_

**Guys love a weepy woman.**

“Brooke?” Brooke felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around. Through her tear-blurred vision, she saw Jake. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

**Repeat after me. “I was just thinking of... him.”**

“I was just thinking about... him.” Brooke sniffled.

“Who?” Jake asked.

**My last boyfriend.**

“My,” Brooke hiccuped, “My last boyfriend.” 

“That piece of shit?” Jake’s expression turned sour. 

Brooke nodded. 

**I saw a couple in the hallway and it reminded me of him.**

“I saw... this couple. In the hallway. It just... made me think of him.” Brooke sighed. The tears seemed to be slowing.

**Forget about it. It’s stupid.**

“Forget it.” Brooke forced a laugh. “It’s... it’s stupid.” 

“Brooke.” Jake said. “It’s not stupid. That guy was a douche.” 

**I just... I thought he liked me. I thought I was good enough for him.**

“I just thought... I thought he _liked_ me, Jake. I thought I was good enough for him.” Brooke bit her lip. 

“Don’t think like that.” Jake said. “It’s his loss.” Jake patted her shoulder, which was pretty comforting. “Let’s talk about something else. Like my Halloween party.” 

**Are you going with anyone?**

“Oh yeah!” Brooke nodded. “Are you going with anyone? Like, as a date?” Brooke mentally kicked herself for adding that last bit. 

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just go stag.” 

“Same.” Brooke nodded.

**Oh, I know! Let’s go together.**

“Oh!” Brooke let her eyes widen, like an idea had just hit her. “I have an idea. What if we go together?” 

“Like, as a date?” Jake asked. 

Brooke nodded. “Yeah! It’ll be fun!” She clapped her hands together. “We can even coordinate our costumes!” 

“That sounds awesome!” Jake broke into a grin. 

**Why don’t we go as Harley and the Joker?**

“We can go as Harley and the Joker!” Brooke smiled. 

“Fuck yeah!” Jake yelled, pumping his fist in the air. That yell got them a questioning glance from Madeline. 

**Maybe we could meet up and shop for our costumes after school.**

“Maybe we could shop for our costumes after school.” Brooke.

Jake nodded. “Party City? I can drive us.”

“Sounds good to me.” 

**Squeeze his hand.**

Brooke reached out and squeezed his hand. “See you there, Jakey D.” She smiled.

**Now walk away. Squeezing the hand and walking away is the high school equivalent of a strip tease.**

Brooke turned and walked off, swaying her hips a bit. She looked cool and collected, sure, but on the inside she was screeching and wondering how in the hell that had worked. 

**After Christine rejected him, Jake’s self-esteem took a blow. He’s self-conscious. All high-schoolers are. Some just hide it better than others.**

_You can’t be serious._

**I do not have joking functions in my programming. I’m dead serious. Jake, for instance, participates in many clubs and sports.**

_I thought he was just active._

**No. He does this to conceal the feeling that deep down, he’ll never be good enough. He needs praise from those around him to validate himself.**

_What? I had no idea-_

**Jake’s goal. He doesn’t want anyone to know this.**

_Why?_

**Appearances. Having a cool, arrogant, careless exterior makes one more desirable on the school social hierarchy.**

_But if he’s hurting-_

A shock ran up Brooke’s spine. **We’re not here to improve Jake’s life. We’re here to improve your life.**

Brooke nodded, trying to ignore the twinge of guilt twisting at her insides. 

“Okay, what’s up?” A hand grabbed her and spun her around, and Brooke found herself face to face with the hard stare of Chloe Valentine. 

“What?” 

“Don’t play games with me!” Chloe snapped. “What the hell has gotten into you?” 

**Ignore her.**

“Chloe, I don’t have time for this-“ Brooke started to walk off, but Chloe grabbed her wrist.

“Brooke!” Chloe hissed. 

With strength Brooke didn’t even know she had, Brooke yanked her wrist free. 

“Fine!” Chloe narrowed her eyes. “You wanna do the silent-treatment thing? Do it.” 

Brooke shot a glare and walked away. She didn’t look back, but she could hear Chloe’s shoes clacking on the hard floor as she stalked away.

***

Rich stood off to the side, watching Christine and Jeremy in the scene where Oberon and Puck were plotting to drug Titania. Christine was really selling it. Heere was anxious, but overall he wasn’t doing too bad. 

Jake sauntered up to Rich with his usual swagger, a grin on his face. 

“Why so chipper?” Rich asked. 

“Jakey D got himself a date.” Jake said. “Dillingers, we always bounce back.” 

“No way. That quick?” Rich raised an eyebrow. “Who?” 

“Brooke! She asked me if I wanted to take her to my Halloween party.” Jake smiled. Rich knew that smile. It was the same smile Jake had shown when he and Chloe started dating almost a year back. Before the relationship had turned sour, Jake was actually pretty happy with Chloe, and vice versa. 

“Lohst?” Rich’s eyes widened. Yeah, Brooke was friendly with Jake, but she was friendly to everyone. There was nothing at all to indicate that what they felt for each other was romantic. 

“Yeah. We’re coordinating our costumes and everything.” 

“Practically married.” Rich chuckled. Was he being an asshole? He wasn’t trying to be. It was just...

“...Harley and the Joker.” Jake continued. He had obviously been talking before that, but Rich had been too caught up in his “Am I An Asshole or Do I Just Need to Go to Sleep” routine in his head to notice. 

“Sounds like it’ll be fun.” Rich forced a smile. Jake was happy. That much was certain. 

“What about you? Any chicks you have your eyes on?” Jake slapped Rich on the back.

“Nah. Lone wolf, right here.” 

Jake seemed dissatisfied. “Well, what’s your Halloween costume?” 

“My older brother left his Jason mask when he went to college. I’ll just steal that.” 

“This year you’re going as Jason, last year you went as Ghostface. What were you freshman year? Before you moved here.” 

Rich bit his tongue. There it was again. Everyone always assumed he’d moved here after freshman year, and his SQUIP had encouraged that. Better to let them think that then allow them to know that Rich was that weird, shy kid with choppy brown hair and thick glasses who hid behind oversized hoodies and sweatpants. 

“Freddy.” Rich said after a long pause. To Jake, it probably sounded like he was trying to remember, but really Rich had just been trying to think of something that wasn’t “I didn’t go out and stayed in my room with a huge bag of candy binging The Office and pretending no one was home when trick-or-treaters rang”. 

“Dear Lord, you had a theme going and you stuck to it.” Jake laughed. 

“Maybe next year I’ll be Jigsaw.” Rich smirked. 

Why wasn’t he happy for Jake? He should be. 

“I heard Jenna is going as Pennywise. From that Stephen King novel.” Jake said.

“It?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Nice. I’ve seen the television version a few times. When my brother was in town.” Rich grinned. “You haven’t lived until you’ve watched It at three in the morning.” 

“Noted.” 

Mr. Reyes called from the stage. “Demetrius, Lysander, Helena, and Hermia.” 

Rich and Jake broke off from their conversation and walked onstage, where Brooke made a point to stand as far away from Chloe as possible. 

“Action!” Mr. Reyes called. 

Rich worked through the scene like a ghost. He said his lines, he moved when he was supposed to move and stood where he was supposed to stand, but his heart wasn’t in it.  
After listening to an unsolicited ten minute lecture from Mr. Reyes about how he needed to _sell_ the fact that his character was in love with Hermia, Rich had never been so happy to see the clock hit 5:30 in his life. 

His friends moved their separate ways. Brooke and Jake went for their little shopping date, Chloe stalked off somewhere, and Jenna busied herself with her phone while she waited for her dad to pick her up. 

Rich walked out through the back door of the auditorium. The chilly October air hit him like a blow to the face, and he wished he’d brought his jacket. Taking a minute before walking home, Rich leaned against the brick wall and sighed.

**What’s upsetting, Rich?**

Rich jumped. His SQUIP had been silent for so long. 

_I... how did you know I was upset?_

**I am inside your brain, Rich. We are metaphorically and literally sharing the space.**

_Right._

**So what is it that’s troubling you?**

_Why do you need to know?_

**It’s in my programming to improve your life. If you’re upset, it is my duty to help you,**

Rich sighed. _I should be happy for Jake._

The SQUIP’s eyes narrowed dangerously. **But?**

_I am. It’s just... not fully._

It was that feeling. The weird, obscure, I-want-to-rip-out-my-own-heart feeling. Maybe Rich was just a cynical asshole who was bitter because he couldn’t get a date. Maybe.

Probably.

**I have the answer to that.**

Rich looked up. _You do?_

The SQUIP nodded, its lips in a tight smile. **Of course.**

_How?_

**It’s simple. You have a crush on Brooke.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t think Rich’s SQUIP is being entirely truthful, do you?


	8. Shopping

“Are you kidding me?” Jeremy yelled as he opened the file on his computer that his cousin had sent him. “The whole thing’s in...” 

“Korean.” Christine recognized the alphabet immediately. 

Jeremy sent a text to his cousin. Christine looked over his shoulder, and could see it read, _yo why the fuck is it in Korean_.

A few seconds passed before Jeremy’s phone chimed with a response.

_it was the only thing i could find. literally nothing else on the internet. had to ask my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend’s girlfriend cuz shes like super tech savvy. she did some digging and found this manual from a pen pal she has in korea._

“I know a little Korean.” Christine took a closer look at the screen. “My dad’s Korean, but he doesn’t usually speak the language. I know more Vietnamese than Korean.” 

“Do you think you can try?” Jeremy asked. 

Christine nodded and looked at the screen. “‘SQUIP pills are designed to improve everyday life. Take with soda to activate. Customizable in different forms.’” 

Jeremy was writing the words down on a yellow legal pad as she spoke. “Does it say anything about behavioral changes?” 

“‘SQUIP pills may cause side effects. Effects include seizures, minor aches in head, and...’” Christine trailed off, “...behavioral changes.” 

She gripped the plastic chair as if it were an anchor keeping her down. She’d been hoping, beyond actual hope, that Brooke wasn’t SQUIPped. That it was all in her head. This confirmed her worst fears. She’d been sent back to save her friends, and instead she’d put one of them in terrible danger. 

She wasn’t sure what she would do now.

The tension in the air was thick before Jeremy spoke. “Does it say anything about turning it off?” 

“As a failsafe, SQUIPs can always be deactivated by drinking red-“ 

The screen was obscured by a pop up, saying, _Crash detected. Return to home screen?_

Jeremy cursed under his breath as he clicked out of the file. He tried to reenter, but the same crash message displayed. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“The file crashed.” Jeremy groaned. “And it doesn’t look like it’ll un-crash anytime soon.” He pulled out his phone and texted Jared again.

_file crashed._

The phone chimed with a text from Jared. _crashed for me too. got Ev to check and his phone displayed a crash message too._

Jeremy responded, _thanks anyway._

One final text from Jared: _anytime bro. tell christine I said hi ;)_. At that, Jeremy turned his phone off and put it in his pocket, his face flushing pink.

“Well... it’s a start.” Christine grabbed the legal pad Jeremy had been writing on and looked over what they had. 

“What else can we do?” Jeremy shifted in his seat. 

“Do you know anyone else who can help?” Christine asked. 

“Michael might know someone who is... familiar with stuff you’re not really supposed to buy.” Jeremy’s voice trailed off. 

“You’re talking about my cousin.” Christine realized. 

Jeremy nodded. “Dustin.” 

“I wish he’d stop selling drugs.” Christine shifted her weight uncomfortably. _Note to self: have serious talk with Dustin and suggest other business ventures that don’t involve regularly breaking the law._

“Well, right now it’s a blessing in disguise.” Jeremy said. “I texted Michael. We’re meeting him and Dustin at the mall.” 

“Why the mall?” Christine grabbed her purse off of the desk. 

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s for the aesthetic.” Jeremy shrugged. “Michael’s always had a flare for the dramatics.” 

“So does my cousin.” Christine looked at Jeremy, eyes widening, and then they both burst out laughing.

It felt _so_ good to laugh. Despite the tension, the peril, and the stakes, Christine needed something to laugh at. 

“They’re perfect for each other.” Jeremy grinned.

“Yep.” Christine smiled back, Jeremy’s grin making her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Jeremy didn’t have a car, so the two grabbed their bus passes and hitched a ride to the Menlo Park mall. After a twenty minute ride hindered by traffic, they got to the mall and spent another fifteen minutes attempting to navigate to the Spencer’s, where Michael and Dustin had arranged to meet them. 

“What took you so long?” Dustin asked when they finally got to the Spencer’s. 

“Ask the Pinkberry employees, who, quote unquote, ‘could have sworn the Spencer’s was right next to the Hot Topic’, and the Hot Topic employees, who, quote unquote, ‘last remembered it being next to the Apple Store’.” Jeremy groaned. 

“Damn.” Dustin’s eyes widened. “You guys walked all over the mall.”

Christine nodded. “Pretty much.” 

“So what was so important about this, anyway?” Michael asked. 

“Michael, you know that...” Jeremy lowered his voice. “ _...thing_ I tried to buy?” 

“You can say ‘drug’, Jeremy.” Michael said flatly. 

“We’re in a public place!” Jeremy protested. 

“A public place where literally no one cares about recreational drug use.” Michael pointed out. 

“Well, remember it?” Jeremy asked. 

“How could I forget?” Michael asked. 

“Well, we think someone from school got ahold of one of these things.” Christine spoke up. 

Dustin’s eyes widened. “What are you guys talking about?” 

Christine and Jeremy filled Dustin in on SQUIPs. 

“So you’re saying that someone from our piece of shit school got a hold of this super-high tech nano-drug that Jeremy only knows about because some kid was trying to make a buck in the bathroom?” Dustin asked after they were done. 

Jeremy nodded. 

Dustin shrugged. “Not the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.” 

“Really?” Christine raised both her eyebrows. 

“When someone at a party tries to snort weed through a straw like it’s crack, few things surprise you anymore.” Dustin said. 

“How do you even snort weed?” Jeremy asked. 

“Beats me.” Dustin turned to Christine. “And how do *you* know about this, Chrissy? You’re the one who’s always telling me not to sell drugs.” 

“Jeremy filled me in.” Christine gestured to Jeremy, who blushed and nodded sheepishly. 

Michael gave Jeremy two thumbs up. 

“So, can you help us?” Christine asked her cousin. 

“Depends on who it is exactly that has this mystery drug.” Dustin said. 

Christine hesitated a bit before saying, “Brooke.” 

“ _Lohst?_ ”Michael yelled, making the other three shush him. 

“I did not have Brooke pegged as a druggie.” Dustin whistled. 

“She’s not.” A cool female voice said, and Christine turned around to see none other than Chloe Valentine. 

“Chloe?” Dustin’s eyes widened. “Were you _spying_ on us?” 

“Yes. And I want to help.” Chloe looked Dustin right in the eye. 

“Why?” Dustin asked. 

“Because Brooke has been acting crazy these past couple days, and I want to know why.” Chloe responded. 

“Ask her.” Dustin bristled. 

“I can’t, because for some reason, she seems hell-bent on ignoring me.” Chloe’s posture stiffened, but the intensity of her gaze didn’t lessen. 

“Why should we let you help?” Dustin said.

“I can get you guys information from the popular kids, something that, let’s face it, none of you are getting. Except maybe Dustin. Maybe.” 

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Jeremy muttered. 

“She’s right.” Dustin sighed. “No offense, but you three aren’t exactly the type the popular kids love to associate with.”

“None taken.” Michael said. 

“So what do you say?” Chloe asked. “Am I in?” 

Christine looked at the other three. After a moment of silent contemplation, Dustin turned back to Chloe. 

“You’re in.” Dustin nodded. 

“When do we get started?” Chloe asked. 

“Now.” Dustin pulled out his phone. “What did you say this drug was called again?” 

***

Brooke quickly found out that costume stores in the week leading up to Halloween were more hectic than she’d imagined.

“Jesus, it’s like the mall on Black Friday.” She muttered as Jake circled the parking lot for the third time trying to find a place to park.

**Third row.**

Brooke’s eyes fell on an empty spot in the third row. “There!” She pointed. 

Jake turned the wheel of his car sharply to get to the spot, and that gesture was met by a slew of loud horns that made Brooke wince.

“You okay?” Jake asked. 

Brooke nodded. “The loud noises just... startled me.” 

**Pathetic excuse.**

_Shut up!_

The two of them got out of the car and headed into the Party City, which was all decked out with fancy Halloween decorations. Brooke steered a wide path around a very realistic statue of a creepy clown holding a knife. 

“This reminds me of the time my dad dressed up as a scarecrow and held a bowl that said ‘take one’ and he scared the kids that took more than one.” Brooke giggled, pointing to a scarecrow mask. 

Jake smiled. “One time I fell for that. It scared the shit out of me.” 

Brooke’s eyes fell on a Harley Quinn costume. A red-and-white tee-shirt, blue short shorts, a jacket that was half blue and half red, and black fishnet stockings. 

**That one.**

“Oh! This one is sweet!” She grinned, taking the bag off the hook. “Harley was always one of my favorites.” 

Jake nodded. “All of the Gotham City Sirens are pretty badass.” 

**The Gotham City Sirens are Harley, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman.**

“Oh! The Gotham City Sirens! That’s Harley, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman. Right?” Brooke asked. 

“You’ve got it.” Jake smiled. 

“I didn’t know you were a DC fan.” Brooke remarked as Jake was looking down a list of Joker costumes. 

“I always liked the comics as a kid, and I guess it sort of just stuck with me.” Jake grabbed a costume. “I think this one looks pretty badass.” 

Brooke looked at the picture on the bag. 

**I think you could make it look badass.**

“You could definitely make it look badass.” Brooke smiled up at Jake. 

Jake chuckled. “I don’t know.” 

“Of course you could! It’s the Joker! He does, like, half of the badassery for you!” 

“I don’t think ‘badassery’ is a real word.” Jake remarked. 

“It is now.” Brooke said. “Get the costume. Plus, it’s from the same developer as my costume, so we’ll match.” 

“Right. Can’t have a mismatched Harley and Joker.” Jake joked. 

From somewhere else in the aisle, a little girl was doing spins to show off a fairy costume. “Mommy, Mommy, look! I’m a fairy!” 

“Aw.” Brooke smiled at the spinning girl. “She’s so adorable!” 

“I would give my mom the same Halloween costume treatment when I was a kid. I made her look at, like, twenty different superhero costumes before picking one.” Jake’s expression became far-off.

“My mom used to ruin all my costumes by making them ‘weather appropriate’. I remember throwing a huge fit one year because ‘Snow White does not wear a turtleneck!’” 

“Yeah. I think that’s a universal childhood experience.” Jake still looked upset.

“Hey, Jake. Do your parents know you’re having a Halloween party?” Brooke asked. Jake had told everyone a month ago that his parents were on a business trip, and despite not wanting to admit it, she would feel a whole lot better knowing she wasn’t going behind Jake’s parents’ backs. 

“About that...” Jake sighed. “My parents... they’re not on a business trip, Brooke.” 

“What?” Brooke asked. 

“They got in trouble. They laundered money from somewhere and got found out, and they went on the run.” 

“Oh my God, Jake. That’s... horrible.” Brooke put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.” 

“Please, you can’t tell anyone.” Jake looked at Brooke with pleading eyes. 

**Say you won’t tell anyone.**

_But-_

A sharp shock ran up Brooke’s spine. “I promise.” She said, biting the inside of her lip. “Would you like a hug?”

“Yeah.” Jake nodded, and Brooke gave him a hug. 

“Want to check out now?” She asked gently. 

Jake nodded and gave a weak smile. After the two of them checked out, they stood outside the store for a second, holding their purchases in orange plastic bags. 

**Tell him you think you’ll have the best couples costumes at his party.**

_But we’re not a couple!_

**Just follow my lead.**

“Hey, Jake.” Brooke grinned. “I think we’ll have the best couple’s costumes at your party.” 

“Oh, so this is a couple’s costume, then?” Jake’s smile was teasing. 

Brooke gave a sly smirk. “If you want it to be.” 

“I think I do.” Jake said, and his smile became wider. 

“Me too.” Brooke couldn’t contain her smile, even if she didn’t particularly feel any romantic emotions. Maybe they’d come on later. 

**Good work, Brooke. We’re closer than ever to reaching our goal.**


	9. Doubt

Jake and Brooke were dating, and Rich wasn’t sure how to feel. 

Rich was currently sitting on his bed. He had a Netflix series going on his phone, but even with that, his own thoughts were drowning out everything else. 

_Jake likes Brooke. Brooke likes Jake. I like Brooke. Why do I care? Jake is happy. He deserves it. I’m happy for him. But not really. Could feelings please just go away for a single fucking minute?_

**You know you can’t hide from your emotions forever, Rich.**

_Shut up_

**Why? I’m right.**

_Just... can you turn yourself off for a few minutes? I need to be alone._

**Very well.**

Rich could feel the SQUIP deactivating, and instantly every muscle in his body relaxed. He slouched down, like a puppet whose strings had just been cut. The Netflix series was still going, but Rich wasn’t paying attention anymore. He was glad to have a few minutes of time that were truly to himself. 

He buried himself under his sheets, and, just for a minute, let himself be _tired_. 

He remembered who he was back then. Always sitting in the back of the classroom, not participating. Never talking to anyone because of that stupid lisp. No one knew him as Rich Goranski back then. They knew him as the quiet, brown-haired kid who hid behind hoodies and a pair of thick, black glasses. 

But that wasn’t him. That was never him. It was never going to be him, despite whatever his father might think. 

SQUIPs had helped people see that. This thing _had_ made his life better. Sure, he still had to deal with his dad at home, but most of the time, a confrontation could be avoided by simply leaving the house for a few hours. He actually had friends now. Even if they didn’t truly know him. And weren’t SQUIPs programmed to improve people’s lives? 

So why did he still not trust the thing when it told him he had a crush on Brooke?

His phone rang, startling Rich out of his thoughts. He sat up, grabbed the phone, and put it to his ear. “Hey.” 

“Rich?” Rich instantly recognized the voice on the other end.

“Matt! How’s college?” He asked his older brother, startled to hear his own lisp coming back without the SQUIP.

“It’s been nice. How’s life back home?” 

“Pretty good.” Rich answered. 

“Any girls?” Matt asked. 

“Actually...” Rich bit his lip. “...actually, no.” He said after a pause. 

“No one?” Rich could hear the surprise in his older brother’s voice. 

“Nope. I’m trying out the whole ‘lone-wolf’ routine.”

Matt laughed, but then his voice turned serious. “Hey, is everything still good at home?” 

“Everything’s fine.” Rich answered. 

“Dad’s not giving you any trouble?” 

Rich shook his head, even though Matt couldn’t see it. “Nope. Getting out of the house more helps.” 

“I was serious last time, Rich. If things get bad, please, just come over. You can always stay with me.” 

“I can’t do that to you.” Rich said faintly. 

“I would rather do without a few things than make you live with him if you’re in danger.” Matt’s voice was pleading. 

“I promise.” Rich said. 

“You mean it?” 

“Hey, Goranskis don’t go back on their promises.” Rich gave a weak chuckle. “At least, two-thirds of them don’t.” 

Matt sighed. “My next class is pretty soon. I’ve gotta go. I’ll be home for Thanksgiving. Love you, scooter.” 

“I love you too, jerk.” Rich smirked. Then the phone beeped, and Rich set it back down on his bed. 

In no time at all, the familiar electronic buzz of the SQUIP reactivating again filled is head. 

**You didn’t do anything rash while I was deactivated?**

_Never._

**Good.**

Rich sat up and went over to pick his jacket up off the floor. Next to the jacket, a small transgender pride patch lay on the floor, still in the packaging. He’d never gotten the chance to iron it on. Maybe that was for the best. Middleborough High School wasn’t exactly a progressive safe haven of acceptance. 

The jacket had belonged to Matt before he left for college. It was camo print, about a size too big for him. The universe had decided it would be funny to give Matt their mother’s height genes. 

Rich put the jacket on. The familiar feeling of the fabric against his bare arms made him feel calmer. 

**There’s only a week until Jake’s Halloween party.** The SQUIP reminded him.

_Right. The Halloween party._

**And Brooke will most certainly be there.**

_Don’t even think about it._

**I cannot think about anything-**

_You know damn well what I meant. Jake is happy. Brooke is happy. I can live with that._

**I am designed to improve your live, Rich.**

_You won’t be improving my life if you ruin my best friend’s._

There was a beat of imposing silence before the SQUIP continued. **Very well.**

*******

“And you’re saying there was nothing Jared could find besides this weird instructional manual in Korean that crashed after a few minutes?” Michael asked. 

If you had walked past the table that Christine, Jeremy, Michael, Dustin, and Chloe we’re currently occupying at the Wendy’s, you would have been very confused and maybe even a little alarmed at the conversation you overheard. 

“Yep.” Jeremy nodded as he ate a spoonful of chocolate Frostee. “The weird thing was, Rich told me SQUIPs originated in Japan.” 

“I guess they were shipping it out.” Dustin remarked. 

“Hold on, _Rich_ had one of those freaky nano-drugs too?” Chloe groaned. “Son of a fucking bitch.” 

“Has anyone ever told you you cuss a lot?” Dustin asked, a smirk on his face. It was true. Chloe probably had the most foul mouth out of all of them. 

Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “It’s bad enough I’m being forced to hang out with a bunch of losers.” Her eyes shot to Christine. “Well, Christine’s cool, I guess. But the rest of you are on thin fucking ice.” 

Christine was drinking a strawberry lemonade. “Let’s focus. What else do we know?” 

“Well, we know you activate them by drinking Mountain Dew.” Michael said. 

“ _Green_ Mountain Dew.” Jeremy pointed out. 

“Right.” Dustin nodded. He grabbed a pen out of his backpack and wrote something down on a napkin. 

“What are we gonna do, stand beside the vending machine and yell at anyone buying green Mountain Dew?” Chloe snarked. 

“Anything else?” Dustin asked. “That _isn’t_ sarcastic?” 

Christine was thinking about everything she knew from before she got sent back. Which wasn’t a whole lot. She’d had her own SQUIP during the play for a comically small amount of time, and she didn’t even remember most of it. She remembered drinking from the beaker, then the next thing she knew, she woke up in the hospital with a splitting headache. The person who’d had it for the longest was Rich, but that didn’t help her much. _Hey, Rich, can you please tell me everything about this weird robot drug that I’m not supposed to know about?_

“They change your behavior.” Jeremy offered weakly. 

“Anything about how to shut it off?” Michael grabbed one of Dustin’s fries and dipped it into his Frostee. 

Chloe wrinkled her nose. “That’s disgusting.” She remarked at Michael ate the Frostee-covered fry. 

“It’s delicious.” Michael rebutted. 

“It’s blasphemy.” Chloe shot back. 

“The manual we looked at mentioned a way SQUIPs could be deactivated, but the file crashed before we could get everything down.” Christine sipped the last of her strawberry lemonade. “It said something about drinking ‘red’.” 

“Red wine?” Chloe offered. 

Christine remembered something Jeremy had told her pre-time-travel about alcohol messing up SQUIPs. Definitely a possibility. 

“Red fruit punch?” Michael shrugged. 

“Kool-Aid?” Dustin jabbed the pen into the napkin. 

Chloe stood up. “I have to go to the bathroom. Christine? Will you come with?” 

Christine nodded without hesitation. It was the unwritten code that you never let a fellow girl go to the bathroom alone. 

“Keep brainstorming.” Christine said as she and Chloe went into the bathroom, which was, not surprisingly, empty. 

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Chloe came out to wash her hands. 

“Hey, Chloe?” Christine asked. 

“Hm?” 

“Why are you helping us?” 

Chloe looked up at Christine and wrung her hands out over the sink. “Why do you ask?” 

“Well, you don’t seem to like us. Most of us.” Christine shifted awkwardly. “So why are you helping us?” 

“Because if these weird drugs can alter your personality, I don’t even want to imagine what other kind of fucked-up shit they could do. And I don’t want Brooke to get hurt.” Chloe pressed her lips into a thin, tight line. 

“You really care about her, don’t you?” 

“What makes you think I don’t?” Chloe’s eyes narrowed. 

“Well... you’re not very nice to her. That’s what it looks like.” Christine scuffed the toe of her sneaker against the tile floor. 

“I’m perfectly...” Chloe sputtered. “I’m _jealous_ of her! Doesn’t she get that?” Chloe slammed her hands into the counter with such force that Christine jumped. 

“Well...” Christine said slowly. “Chloe, you can’t just assume people will know how you feel.” 

“I don’t _assume_ -“ Chloe stopped mid-sentence and sighed. 

“The only way for someone to know for sure is if you tell them.” Christine continued. 

“I want to help Brooke. Really.” Chloe rubbed her temples. 

“I know. And we’re going to.” Christine said. “So let’s get out there and find a weakness to these things.” 

*******

_I haven’t had a boyfriend in a while._

Brooke was sitting on her bed, a mug of steaming peppermint tea gripped in both hands. 

**See? With my help, your relationship with Jake can be just the push you need to get ahead in the social hierarchy.**

_I just feel guilty._

**What for?**

_Jake’s alone. He’s been alone for God knows how long. His own parents left him. And I’m not doing anything to help him._

**You shouldn’t feel guilty.**

_Give me one reason._

**Jake will open up to people, but it needs to be on his own time. If you approach him when he’s not ready, it could scare him. He could close himself off more. He could get hurt.**

_I... I don’t want that._

**I know you don’t, Brooke. Trust me. This is in the best interest of both Jake and yourself.**

_Really?_

**Would I ever lie to you?**

_I guess not._

Still, something ate at her. Like a gnawing, crushing, horrible feeling of doubt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this fic will have trans Rich, because I absolutely adore trans Rich. 
> 
> Also, raise your hand if you want a Buzzfeed Unsolved spinoff with Chloe, Dustin, Michael, Christine, and Jeremy.


	10. A Thousand Words

When Brooke woke up, it took a few minutes for the events of the previous day to fully hit her. 

She sat up, realizing she must have fallen asleep in her clothes last night. The mug of peppermint tea she’d been drinking sat on her nightstand, forgotten and cold. 

**It’s a big day, Brooke.**

Brooke jumped. She was almost about to speak, but remembered how those shocks felt and caught herself. _Don’t do that!_

**Do what?**

_Don’t scare me like that!_

**I apologize.**

Brooke stood up and yawned. She shot a glance towards the alarm clock on her nightstand: 7:30. 

**You should get dressed. Jake will be here soon.**

_Jake? I always either ride the bus or ride with Chloe._

**He’s going to come pick you up. It’s pretty common courtesy for budding relationships, and makes a good impression on parents.**

_Right._ Brooke nodded grimly, the mention of parents bringing her back to the conversation with Jake in the Party City, and walked over to her dresser to get changed. 

**That shirt.** The SQUIP motioned for Brooke to grab a white t-shirt, which she did. 

**And those shorts.** Brooke reached into the bottom dresser drawer and grabbed a pair of black denim shorts. 

**That choker and that jacket.** After some rooting around, Brooke came up with a black choker and a bubblegum pink cardigan. She didn’t remember ever _buying_ any of this stuff. 

When Brooke looked in the mirror, she was once again a different person. Gone was the shy and timid Brooke Lohst. She had been replaced by the girl standing in the mirror, who looked... well, like Cady after the Plastics gave her a makeover in Mean Girls. (She’d watched that movie with Chloe at a sleepover during freshman year, mostly for Amanda Seyfried). 

_Do I need makeup?_

**Maybe a little bit. Don’t overdo it, though, or you’ll seem desperate. Some lip gloss and a little mascara should suffice.**

Brooke had a bunch of makeup stuffed in a cosmetics bag somewhere. _Maybe I should clean out my room one of these days,_ she thought as she rummaged around her sock drawer. 

After digging around her sock drawer, her junk drawer, and her nightstand, she finally found the bag. And just in time, too- right as she finished applying her mascara, her dad called from downstairs. 

“Brooke, honey, there’s someone at the door for you! A boy from school.” She could hear the playful teasing in her father’s voice. 

“Coming, Dad.” Brooke grabbed her backpack off the floor and went downstairs, leaping over her cat, Pumpkin, who was snoozing on the bottom step. 

“Who’s that?” Her dad asked, motioning outside. Brooke looked through the kitchen window to see a grey Toyota, and Jake Dillinger getting out of it. 

“That’s Jake.” Brooke said, grabbing a banana out of the fruit bowl on the counter. 

“What’s he like?” Her dad was already dressed in his nurse’s scrubs and had his car keys in his hand. 

“He’s nice. He’s the one I went Halloween costume shopping with yesterday.” 

“Do you _like_ him?” Her dad gave a cheesy grin.

“Dad!” Brooke playfully shoved him. 

“Just saying, Brooke, remember our golden rule: Condoms and birth control, both together.” 

“Oh my god, Dad, stop.” Brooke groaned, but she didn’t really mean it. 

“What? The more you tell teenagers to not do something, the more likely they are to do it. I might as well teach you about safe sex if your health classes aren’t going to.” Her dad shrugged. 

The doorbell rang, and Brooke walked over to answer it. “Hey, Jake.” She smiled.

“Hey, Brooke.” Jake returned the smile, then looked over her shoulder and towards Brooke’s dad. “You must be Mr. Lohst. I’m Jake Dillinger.” 

“Pleasure to meet you, Jake.” Her dad smiled. “That’s a nice ride you got there.” 

“Thanks.” Jake grinned sheepishly. “I was actually coming over to see if Brooke needed a ride.” 

“That would be fantastic, actually.” Her father said. “I have to get to the hospital, and it’s in the opposite direction of the high school. Unless you want to take the bus, Brooke.” 

Brooke’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “Heck no.” 

Jake laughed. “I guess that settles it.” 

Brooke’s father nodded. “And I’m probably gonna be working later tonight, Brooke. I put some Trader Joe’s dumplings in the fridge and you can just heat them up if you get hungry.” 

Brooke nodded. “Does Pumpkin’s food bowl need filling?” 

“Just filled it. But if it’s running low when you get home, top it off. Love you, honey bear.” 

“I love you too, Dad.” Brooke kissed her dad on the cheek before following Jake out the front door. 

“Your dad’s cool.” Jake remarked once they were in the car. “He’s a doctor?” 

“Nurse, actually.” Brooke said.

“Nice. What does your mom do?” 

Brooke shifted in her seat. “My mom, um... doesn’t live with us.” 

“God. I’m sorry. I just assumed- that was stupid.” 

**Put your hand on his arm and tell him it’s fine.**

“It’s fine, Jake.” Brooke put her hand on his arm. “Really. You didn’t mean anything by it.” 

“Thanks.” Jake smiled weakly. 

**Change the subject.**

“What’s on the radio?” Brooke asked. 

“I don’t know. You can pick.” Jake gestured to the dials. 

“Hmm...” Brooke turned the dial, and immediately, a country song started playing from the speakers. 

“No, God, turn it off!” Jake said. 

“Are you sure?” Brooke cranked up the volume. “This is my jam!” 

“Come on, Brooke, I thought you were better than this!” Jake groaned. 

Brooke ignored him and began singing along to the song at the top of her lungs. “ _Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong..._ ” 

“Don’t you dare finish that lyric, Brooke Lohst!” Jake tried to sound angry, but he was laughing so much it was impossible. 

“ _West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads!_ ” Brooke finished with a flourish and turned the volume back down. 

A small shock ran up her spine. _What was that for?_

**For almost making a fool out of yourself.**

_Relax, we were having fun-_ Another shock, and Brooke decided it would be unwise to argue further. 

“Bravo, you’ve successfully given me chronic ear damage.” Jake turned the dial to a different station. A song by Sia started playing. 

“Is this better?” Brooke asked. 

“Much.” 

“I didn’t know you liked Sia.” 

“Hey, she has a nice voice.” Jake shrugged. 

“If there’s other people in this relationship, Jake, I want to know.” Brooke put on a fake angry face, which made Jake laugh. 

“You can’t be threatening if you tried.” 

“Hey!” Brooke raised her eyebrows, but she couldn’t take it anymore and started laughing, too. 

This felt natural. Hanging out with Jake. Making him laugh, and him making her laugh in turn. Even if she still didn’t feel the same way she’d felt about her last boyfriend. But maybe crushes felt different depending on the person you were dating.   
That had to be it. 

It just had to be.

***

Chloe was in an especially sour mood at lunch. Christine noticed this, as well as everyone else at their table. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Jake and Brooke were sitting next to each other. 

“I cannot believe it.” Chloe growled. She was drinking one of those bottled Starbucks iced coffees. 

“What?” Michael asked, grabbing a strip of the grilled chicken Dustin had brought for lunch. 

“That Jake and Brooke are a thing.” Chloe said. 

“They are?” Jeremy turned around, confused. “They don’t look like it.” 

“Jake drove Brooke to school this morning. They _held hands_ as they were getting out of the car.” Chloe took a sip of her iced coffee. “That’s, like, the best way you can say ‘we’re together’ without literally making out.” 

“How do you-“ Jeremy started, but Chloe cut him off.

“Do not ask me how I know that.” An awkward silence descended upon the table. 

“O-kay.” Michael said. “Let’s focus. Did anyone come up with any new leads?” 

“I got nothing.” Jeremy said. 

“I tried talking to Rich. But he was just super vague and weird.” Chloe tapped her nails on the side of her bottle. 

“I talked to some of my sources. No one knows anything about SQUIPs. Apparently, they’re not legal in the U.S or any European countries yet, so the only place you can really get them is in Japan and the surrounding countries they’re shipped to.” 

“Like Korea?” Christine asked. 

“You got it. Mostly South Korea. And Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines...” Dustin counted off the countries on his fingers. “But you know the reason they’re banned in the U.S and Europe?” 

“Why?” Chloe leaned in. 

“They’re _dangerous._ Like, high-key, mental-hospital dangerous.” Dustin was whispering now. 

“What?” An expression of shock crossed Chloe’s face. 

“Those things, those SQUIPs, they’re bad news. If you have one, it has complete control over you. It can make you do stuff that you don’t want to. It can even shock you into obeying.” 

“Where did you hear this?” Chloe asked. She was gripping her fork like a vise. 

“Through the grapevine. That’s all I could find out. There’s no electronic or paper trail of these things. Whoever’s dealing them, they know how to deal right.” Dustin shook his head. 

“So what you’re saying...” Michael sighed, “...is that we’re completely and utterly fucked.” 

“No.” Chloe shook her head. “You wouldn’t make a fucking nano-drug that can literally _control someone_ without making an out. A stop button. Something.” 

“All we have for stopping it is ‘drink red’.” Dustin made air quotes. “That could literally be anything.”

“We’re going to find a way out of this.” Christine said. “We’re going to help Brooke. And Rich. They’re in danger and they probably don’t even know it.” 

Right now, Christine was wishing she’d asked Jeremy more about SQUIPs before she got sent back. At the time, she’d been hesitant to even mention it. Jeremy had been scarred by the SQUIP. She’d seen it. And she was supposed to make it right, but instead she’d just put another person in danger. _Make this right, Christine. Do it for Brooke, Rich, Jeremy, Chloe, Jake, Michael... all of them._

“We have to talk to them. Make them see that these things aren’t helping.” Jeremy suggested. 

Michael shook his head. “The SQUIPs won’t let them tell us anything.” 

Dustin snapped his fingers. “Wait. I just remembered something else I heard. Alcohol messes up SQUIPs.” 

“It shuts them down?” Chloe asked, her voice hopeful. 

Dustin shook his head. “No. It just... forces them to shut down. It’s like an automatic system reboot. They come back after a while, but while they’re gone, the person can do anything and the SQUIP won’t be able to stop them.” 

Chloe’s shoulders sagged. “So we invite Brooke and Rich out drinking?” Her voice carried the usual sarcasm, but with hints of disappointment. 

“No, what Dustin’s saying is we don’t need to invite them out, because _we’ll go to them._ ” Michael’s eyes widened. 

“Jake’s Halloween party!” Chloe slapped her hands down onto the table, which made the people surrounding them turn and give her weird looks. 

“Exactly!” Dustin grinned. “There is nowhere on Earth where more alcohol is flowing than at a teenager’s party on Halloween Night.” 

“But we won’t be able to get in.” Jeremy groaned. 

“I can get you guys in.” Chloe said. “Back door. Jake keeps an emergency key in the rain gutter. Just wear costumes, and once you’re in, no one will bat an eye.” 

“Are you sure?” Jeremy asked nervously. 

“Positive.” Chloe’s eyes burned with a fierce determination that Christine recognized- it was the own determination Christine saw whenever she looked in the mirror. The determination to succeed, because the alternative wasn’t an option. 

“Fuck yeah, we’re gonna be spies!” Michael grinned, giving Jeremy and Christine a fist bump, getting a reluctant high-five from Chloe, and finally, giving Dustin a kiss. 

Christine felt the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She grabbed Jeremy by the arm and squeezed tightly, letting her energy transfer into one action instead of having it flow willy-nilly through her body. 

“We’re gonna do it, Jeremy. We’re gonna save Brooke and Rich.” She looked up at Jeremy, and their faces were _so close_. His eyes were different up close. From a distance, they were a more muddy shade of brown, but now that she was closer, she could see flecks of hazel. 

“Yeah.” Jeremy smiled. “I guess we are.” 

“Jeremy...” Christine bit her lip and felt her face grow hot. Could he feel it? Her own heartbeat sounded so loud in her ears. “I-“

_Please, brain, for the love of all that is good and holy, do not fail me now._

Every combination of words she could think of sounded equally dorky and awkward. It was pointless to try and speak. 

So Christine didn’t. 

Instead, she lifted her head and closed the distance between her and Jeremy. 

The kiss was soft, sweet, and feather-light. A warm feeling swelled up in her chest and filled her up, like honey slowly trickling out of the jar. 

Christine had acted romance stories before. But she’d never truly felt what she was acting until now. The feeling of being completely _there_ , present, in the moment. Knowing that you were handing another person your heart, and that they were handing you theirs. 

_Now this,_ Christine thought, _this is worth a thousand words._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stagedorks shippers, come get your juice!  
> That made me so happy to write. I love these dorks!


	11. Halloween Part 1

For Brooke, the days left until Halloween seemed to pass in a blur. Classes, drama practice, hanging out with Jake... everything seemed to pass in one long fever dream. 

She’d been to Jake’s last Halloween party. A pretty crazy affair, with lots of alcohol. That was what Jake’s parties were famous for: alcohol, drugs, and a laughable lack of adult supervision. Although Brooke didn’t feel like laughing, now that she knew the real reason Jake didn’t have any adult supervision at his parties. 

_Was I the first person he ever told?_ Brooke thought as she walked to the party, wearing her Harley Quinn costume. 

**Irrelevant. What matters is, you promised Jake you wouldn’t tell anyone.**

_Leaving your kid? That’s gotta be a law violation._

**If his parents laundered money, I doubt they were too worried about the law.**

_But still, I feel like I should do something-_

**We discussed this, Brooke. You are not to tell anyone the truth about Jake’s parents, no matter what.**

_Okay._ Brooke sighed. Little kids walked by her, dressed up in cutesy versions of classic Halloween costumes. Their parents were obviously trying to get the trick-or-treating done before it got darker. 

Night was just starting to fall as Brooke got to Jake’s house. She could hear music pumping from inside as she approached the house. After no one answered when she knocked on the door, she tried the doorknob and found that it was unlocked. 

Inside, the party was already in full swing. A couple was making out against the wall, being cheered on by a few onlookers. The music, which had been muffled when she stood outside, was now louder. A song was playing that she couldn’t quite recognize, with a bass beat that pounded in her ears. An oddly sweet smell filled the air, which Brooke couldn’t quite place. 

**Marijuana.**

_There’s weed at this party?_ /.

 **I don’t know why you sound so surprised. It’s a high school party. Marijuana is practically a given.**

“Brooke! You made it!” 

Brooke turned around to see Jake, who was grinning. He was wearing his Joker costume- a purple suit, green tie, and light blue undershirt. Brooke’s gaze drifted to his left hand, where he was holding a red Solo cup that probably did not contain just soda.

**Kiss him on the cheek and tell him the party’s awesome.**

“Jake!” Brooke kissed him on the cheek. “The party’s amazing.” 

“Glad you like it.” Jake said. “Your costume’s awesome, too. I know I helped pick it out. But seriously, I can’t believe that I’m with a girl who looks like you.” 

“Oh, stop it!” Brooke playfully slapped Jake on the arm. 

“I’m serious. It’s dope.” Jake took a sip of whatever was in his Solo cup. 

**Compliment his costume. But be vague.**

“Your costume is cool, too.” Brooke ran her hand along Jake’s arm, feeling the suit fabric. 

“You were right. Harley and the Joker was an awesome idea.” Jake said. “Hey, you want something to drink?” 

“That would be great. Thank you.” She said. 

“Be right back.” Jake disappeared into the crowd. 

Brooke wandered into the living room, where a makeshift dance floor had been set up. The music from the speaker was now louder than ever, and the partygoers at varying stages of drunkenness screaming the lyrics didn’t help. Almost everyone was holding a drink of some kind, and, just as the SQUIP had said, a few people were leaning against the wall smoking joints. 

**Dance a bit.**

_I can’t dance!_

**You’ll be fine. If push comes to shove, I’ll help you out a bit.**

Cautiously, Brooke made her way to where people were dancing in the middle of the living room. 

_Is that Darth Vader grinding on Cleopatra?_

**Ignore that.**

The current song faded out, and a new one took its place. 

_Is that the Whip Nae Nae song?_

**Indeed.**

Shouts came from the dance floor around Brooke, and everyone started dancing along to the music. 

It turned out to be surprisingly easy, the whole dancing thing. For songs that didn’t have a set dance to go with them, all you had to do was bounce to the music and maybe jump up and down a little. As for the songs that _did_ have a set dance, Brooke usually knew them. If she didn’t, she just looked towards the nearest person and copied them as much as she could. Not that everyone else was flawless- a lot of the dancers were so drunk that they either messed up the moves or made up their own, which resulted in many a collision. 

A Whitney Houston song started playing, and Brooke recognized it immediately. “Hey, this is _I Wanna Dance With Somebody_!” She yelled.

A girl next to her who was dressed as a seriously sexed-up Snow White slurred the lyrics as she danced along. “ _Oh, I wanna dance with somebody!_ ” 

Brooke started jumping up and down. Someone spilled part of their drink on her, but she realized she didn’t care. She was in her own little world, and right now the only thing that mattered was her and the music. 

Then the song ended, and the person in front of her threw their arms out. Brooke stumbled back and managed to avoid getting hit, but her victory was short-lived. She tripped over someone’s shoe and went crashing backwards, and would have hit the floor if it wasn’t for someone catching her. 

“Thanks.” Brooke looked up to see the person who’d caught her. 

“Take it easy.” Jake smiled as he helped her back up. “You’re Harley Quinn, not that girl from Teen Beach Movie.” 

“Ha-ha, very funny.” Brooke rolled her eyes. 

“I got you a drink.” Jake held out a cup. “Sprite with vodka.” 

“Thanks.” Brooke grabbed the drink and took a small sip. 

**Brooke-**

“Not bad.” Brooke said. 

“Yeah, the Sprite makes the vodka easier to handle.” Jake motioned to the couch. “Wanna sit down?” 

“You read my mind.” Brooke took another sip as they sat down. 

“So...” Jake’s voice trailed off. “Enjoying the party so far?” 

“Aside from almost dying on the dance floor? Yeah.” Brooke chuckled. 

“You’re funny, Brooke.” Jake smiled.

“You’re pretty cool, Jake.” Brooke leaned over and put her head on Jake’s shoulder. 

“Look, I know I can seem like a jerk at times,” Jake sighed, “but I really want to be a good person. For you.” 

“Jake...” Brooke started.

“Because after what happened with your last boyfriend, you deserve someone good, and I feel like I’m gonna let you down just like I let everyone else down-“

 _SQUIP? Any help? Don’t know what to say here._ Her SQUIP was, frustratingly, silent. _Looks like I’m handling this myself._

“Jake, I’m gonna stop you there. You _are_ a good person. No one’s a hundred percent good or bad all the time. It’s high school, God. We’re all jerks at some point in our lives. And you’re _not_ letting _anyone_ down.” Brooke looked directly into Jake’s eyes. “You’re smart. You’re strong. You’ve been through hell and you still manage to have a smile on your face. That makes you the bravest person I know. So stop talking bad about yourself, Jake, because I swear to God, if you don’t, I will make you.” Brooke finished. 

That wasn’t calculated. It wasn’t practiced, refined, scripted. Every single word she’d just spoken was raw, messy, real, in the moment... and true. 

Maybe she didn’t like Jake like _that_ yet. But she still cared about him. And she wasn’t going to let Jake talk bad about himself on her watch. 

“Brooke...” Jake started, and for one terrifying moment, Brooke worried that she’d overstepped. That Jake would do exactly what the SQUIP warned he’d do and close himself off. Hurt himself. “Brooke, thank you.” And Jake suddenly hugged her. 

“Please, Jake, promise me you won’t take yourself for granted like that ever again.” 

“I promise.” Jake said, so softly that Brooke almost didn’t hear it over the noise of the party. 

“Hey, Dillinger!” Someone yelled, and Jake stood up. 

“Yeah?” He called, then turned to Brooke. “Some buddies from lacrosse.” 

“Go on.” Brooke said, and once again, Jake vanished into the chaos of the party. 

After a few minutes, Brooke decided to go see what was in the kitchen. She was walking down the hallway when someone grabbed her arm.

“Who’s-“ Brooke was interrupted by the person pulling her through an open door into an empty room. When Brooke saw just had pulled her, her eyes widened. “Chloe?!” 

“Brooke.” Chloe was wearing a pink crop top with puffy sleeves, a ruffled pink skirt, and a giant pink bow in her hair. Brooke vaguely remembered a conversation in which Chloe mentioned planning to dress up as a sexy baby for Halloween, and it looked like she’d followed through with that plan. 

“What the _hell_?” Brooke narrowed her eyes. A spark of anger flared inside her.

“I need to talk to you.” Chloe said. 

“Why?” 

“It’s about the SQUIP.” Brooke’s eyes widened, and Chloe continued. “Yeah, I know about it. Those things aren’t good, Brooke.” 

“And how do you know?” Brooke glared. 

“Dustin Kropp did some research. Yeah, that’s what it’s come to, Brooke. You have me so worried I’m talking to losers.” Chloe shook her head. “But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. Those things, those SQUIPs are _dangerous_.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Dustin said a guy ended up in a mental hospital because of a SQUIP. It drove him crazy.” Chloe’s eyes were wide.

“Chloe-“ 

“Use your head for one minute! Do you honestly think that an insane, self-aware supercomputer would stop at making you _popular_? Because you could get hurt-“ 

“I’m gonna stop you right there.” Brooke held up her hand. “I think you’re jealous.” 

“What? Why the fuck would I be jealous?” Chloe’s face hardened into a glare.

“Because this thing is making me more popular than you!” Brooke yelled. 

“You honestly don’t think that’s what I’m concerned about!” Chloe clenched her fists. 

“Why shouldn’t I? All these years we’ve been friends, you’ve only wanted to hold me back. You were so concerned with being popular that you bossed me around. ‘Brooke, don’t do this, do that instead’ or ‘Brooke, don’t wear that, that’s _my_ thing.’” 

“I know I was a jerk!” Chloe yelled. “But honestly, Brooke, this person got hurt really bad.” 

“And what? Tell me, Chloe.” Brooke snapped. “Tell me why you suddenly care about me after years of holding me back for your own sake. Tell me! Because let me tell you, Chloe, you think everyone loves you, but really, everyone’s afraid of you! Because you’re a _bitch_ , Chloe! That’s why! And I _hate_ you!” 

And without another word, Brooke stormed out, leaving Chloe in shocked silence behind her. Something was making her ears ring, but Brooke ignored it. Even though it made her gut twist up inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m gonna have to split Halloween into three parts, because there’s so much going on that I need to dedicate a full chapter to each POV character


	12. Halloween Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge trigger warning for this chapter, for a fight scene, hints of suicide, and one instance of deadnaming. It’s all towards the end. Please stay safe, y’all.

Rich was starting to really doubt all the hype around Halloween parties. He was sitting off to the side watching the people on the dance floor stumble around and yelling to turn up the music even though it was already on full blast. He was wearing Matt’s old Jason costume, the mask pulled up off his face so he could actually see. Someone had already spilled beer on him, and the smell was almost overpowering. Rich was actually sober, which surprised even him, but the SQUIP had warned him against drinking alcohol. 

**My quantum processor is not equipped to handle alcohol. It would force me to shut down.**

_Alright. X-nay on the alcohol-yay._

Still, it was a good party. However, Rich was not expecting to come face to face with Brooke Lohst on his way to the kitchen. 

“Oh. Hey, Brooke.” 

“Hey, Rich.” Brooke looked like she was ready to murder someone. 

**Ask her if everything’s alright.**

“Everything okay?” Rich asked. 

“No.” Brooke slumped against the wall. “Guess who I just ran into.”

“Who?” Rich leaned against the wall next to Brooke. 

“Chloe.” Brooke sighed. 

_Then why does she sound so upset?_

**Remember Brooke’s goal? It was inevitable that their would be a fallout between her and Chloe. This is earlier than my calculations predicted, but it happened.**

“She told me that SQUIPs were dangerous! Can you believe that? I mean, all this thing has been doing is helping me!” Brooke continued, oblivious to Rich’s inner thought process. 

“Sounds like you’re really upset with her.” Rich mentally kicked himself for stating the obvious. 

“I am! Why does she suddenly care about me now that I’m finally getting out of her shadow?” Brooke gave a groan of frustration. 

**Tell her you have just the thing to get her mind off of this.**

_But I don’t-_ A sharp shock made Rich jump. 

“Hey, I have something to help get your mind off of this.” Rich said.

“Really? What?” Brooke’s eyes widened with interest. 

**Jake has a surprise for her in the upstairs bedroom.**

_Really?_

**Yes. I have access to the house’s security cameras, and I overheard Jake telling his friends about it. Tell Brooke that Jake told you to tell her to go upstairs and wait for him.**

“Jake has a surprise for you in the upstairs bedroom.” Rich said. “He told you to go there and wait for him.” 

“Aw, that’s so sweet.” Brooke smiled. “I’ll go up there now.” 

She started walking towards the staircase, but stopped after a few steps and turned her head back towards him. 

“Hey, you don’t mind going with me, do you? I don’t want some guy to come up there while I’m waiting for him and get me alone. Y’know?” Her tone was light, but her eyes were serious and pleading. 

“Of course.” Rich nodded and started walking after her. 

Upstairs, it was much more isolated than it was downstairs. The only people around were a few girls in line to use the bathroom and two dudes standing by the door to the upstairs bedroom talking about some football game that had been on the television last night. 

“Yo, you two gonna get naked in there or what?” One of the guys hooted as Rich and Brooke walked by them. 

“Fuck off.” Rich glared at the guy. “I’m just waiting with her until her boyfriend gets upstairs so creeps like you don’t try anything.” 

“It’s okay, we won’t tell.” The second guy called after Rich as he walked into the bedroom. His voice was slurred. 

“Shut up.” Brooke walked over and shut the door in the guy’s face, then locked it. 

“How’s Jake gonna get in?” 

“We’ll unlock it when we hear his voice.” Brooke shrugged and sat down on the bed. 

“So... how is it?” Rich asked, sitting down next to her. 

“How’s what?” 

“Dating Jake.”

“Pretty good. He’s been really busy with a bunch of practice stuff, but when he does have free time, he spends it with me.” Brooke bit her lip. “I think part of the reason he’s so busy all the time is because he hates being alone.” 

Rich nodded. “Jake’s the kind of guy who really cares about what people think about him, but acts like he doesn’t.” 

“I’m worried about him.” Brooke sighed. “He puts so much of his worth on other people that he thinks he’s letting everyone down.” 

_What?_

**Jake’s self-esteem is critically low for a boy of his popularity status.**

_But why? Jake’s cool, he’s funny, he’s athletic, he’s smart- he doesn’t have anything to be insecure about._

**Those facts are not mutually exclusive.**

Rich swallowed empty air. “I didn’t know-“ 

“None of us did. My SQUIP had to frickin’ spell it out for me.” Brooke sighed. 

**Say that Jake’s really lucky to have someone who cares.**

“For what it’s worth, Jake is really lucky to have a girlfriend who cares.” Rich said.

“Really?” Brooke’s eyes widened. 

“Yeah. After he broke up with Chloe... he was pretty affected by it.” 

Rich remembered. He remembered how Jake had invited him over the night he broke up with Chloe, gotten madly drunk, and spilled the whole truth. That he felt like Chloe had broken up with him because he wasn’t good enough. That he wasn’t even good enough for his own parents, because _they’d left him._

Rich remembered being floored when Jake told him that. Wondering how long Jake had been on his own. 

The next morning, Jake had texted him an apology, saying that he didn’t know why he’d gotten so drunk, and asking Rich what he’d said. And his SQUIP had made him lie. 

**It’s not a lie,** The SQUIP had said, **It’s protecting your friendship with Jake.**

Rich had believed the SQUIP then, because he didn’t have a choice. Without the SQUIP, he was a nobody. 

“I believe it.” Brooke sighed. Then, she reached up and pulled off her Harley Quinn wig. “That thing was getting hot.” She said to Rich as she shook out her hair.

**Lighten the mood by making a joke.**

Rich chuckled. “You know, I didn’t have a machete for my Jason costume.” 

“Seems smart. Drunk people and sharp objects usually don’t go very well together.” Brooke remarked. 

“Yeah, but like, without his machete, all Jason’s just a homeless goalie with bad fashion sense.” That made Brooke snicker. “So...” Rich continued, “...I found an alternative.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. A loaf of French bread.” 

“No freaking way.” Brooke’s eyes widened. “Where is it.” 

Rich shrugged. “Lost it.” 

“Look on the bright side. Some drunk partygoer is probably enjoying a lovely snack right about now.” 

They both laughed. It was surprisingly easy to talk to Brooke, now that their SQUIPs were synced.

“So when is Jake getting here anyway?” Brooke asked. 

**Jake’s not coming.**

Rich’s blood ran cold. _What?_

**I said Jake isn’t coming, Rich.**

_You lied to me?_

**I’m going to improve your life, Rich.**

_No._ The shock Rich felt was stronger than the previous ones, and he flinched. 

“Rich? What’s the matter?” Brooke’s eyes widened. “Are you good?” 

**You’re going to thank me for this.**

_Stop!_ Another painful, hard shock.

**Do not tell me to stop, Rich. You are going to obey me.**

And with that, like he was a puppet on a string, Rich felt himself leaning in toward’s Brooke’s face- 

And getting slapped away. 

“What the hell?” Brooke’s eyes, which had been so concerned only seconds before, were now lit with a blazing anger Rich had never seen before. 

“Brooke-“ Rich started, but Brooke cut him off. 

“Is Jake even coming? Was this whole thing just a lie so you could get me to make out with you without my boyfriend seeing?” Brooke yelled. 

“Brooke, it was my S-“ 

Suddenly, he couldn’t speak. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get a single word to exit his mouth. 

_Why can’t I talk?_

**You’re not messing this up for yourself.**

_No. Leave Brooke out of this._

**This is the best way.**

“Y’know what? I’m leaving. I hope you’re fucking happy with yourself, Rich.” Brooke started walking towards the door, fists clenched and back tensed. 

Rich felt his own arm reach up and clamp around Brooke’s wrist, with a grip he didn’t know he had. 

“What the fuck?! Leave me alone!” Brooke reached up with her free hand and slapped Rich across the face again, causing a flare of pain. 

And, like a nightmare come to life, this time Rich hit back. 

His own arm hit Brooke in the shoulder, which made her clutch her shoulder and   
gasp in pain. 

_What are you doing?_

**She’s resisting.**

_Let her go._

Another shock, this one hurt _so much_ -

All of the sudden, a flare of pain flashed across Rich’s body as Brooke punched Rich right in the chest. The force of the blow made him stumble backwards and hit the bed frame, but he somehow kept his footing. 

 

Suddenly, Rich heard a voice on the other side of the door, which made his heart stop.   
“Hey, everything okay in there?” 

_Oh God, fuck no._

“Is everything good?” Jake yelled over the noise. 

Brooke opened her mouth to say something, but Rich’s arm shot up and covered her mouth. “Let go of me, you sick bastard!” Brooke grunted, her voice muffled by Rich’s hand. 

_Jake has no idea it’s us._

**He never will.**

In that moment of thought, Brooke bit Rich’s hand, hard. 

“Agh!” Rich hissed, pulling his hand away. 

“Whoever’s in there, I’m coming in!” Jake’s voice was louder this time. 

Still being controlled like a puppet on a string, Rich pushed Brooke against the wall. 

“Let _go_!” Brooke slammed the heel of her costume boot into Rich’s foot, which hurt like hell, but Rich’s body didn’t move. 

“Unless you want me barging in, just give me the OK.” Jake called.

_Leave her alone!_

Another shock. Were they supposed to hurt this much? 

Brooke was still struggling against his grip.

**This is the only way. I’m going to fix this.**

_Fix what?_

Rich’s only answer came in the form of an unseen force pushing his head against Brooke’s in the most miserable kiss he’d ever had. 

Of course, that was the exact moment that Jake got the door open and burst into the room. 

The SQUIP finally released its grip on Rich, making him stumble backwards and gasp for breath. 

Jake’s eyes were wide as he tried to process what exactly he’d just walked in on. 

“Jake-“ Rich started, but Jake cut him off. 

“What...” He started, his voice low and scarily relaxed-sounding. “...the _hell_?” 

“Jake, please-“ Brooke stepped forward. 

“No! There’s no _please_. I don’t want to hear a half-assed explanation for why my girlfriend was making out with my _best fucking friend._ ” 

“Jake, it’s not like that-“ Rich’s heart was thudding in his chest, his throat felt dry and closed up-

“Not like what, Rich? What are you gonna say? That it’s all a big misunderstanding?” Jake made a heartbreaking noise that sounded halfway like a nervous laugh, halfway a sob. “You know?” 

“Jake, please just listen-“ 

“I spilled my fucking guts to you, Brooke, telling you about how much I wanted to be better for you, and you know, _every word of what I said was true._ Yeah, I know. What a shock. Jake Dillinger actually cares for another human being beside himself.” Jake’s voice was uncharacteristically shaky. “And what you said, downstairs, telling me to never take myself for granted? Was that just another lie so I’d feel good about myself while you were kissing my best friend? Because that’s what it feels like.” 

“Jake, I wasn’t lying-“ Brooke began.

“You know what? I’m done. I’m done with the both of you. Happy goddamned Halloween.” Jake clenched his fists and stormed out of the room, his footsteps echoing like gunshots. 

**I would advise against going after him-**

_Shut the fuck up! You’ve done enough._

“Jake-“ Rich called after his... could he even call Jake his friend anymore?

“I trusted you, you know?” Jake spun around to face Rich. “I trusted you, because you were my best fucking friend.” 

“This isn’t what you think it is.” Rich said, his voice breaking. 

“Oh, there’s one I haven’t heard before.” Jake laughed grimly. 

“Please, just listen to me-“ 

“No. I’m not gonna listen to you, because you made out with my fucking girlfriend, and that’s something I can’t forgive. So just get the _fuck_ out of my house, because I never want to see you again in my goddamn life!” Jake was screaming now. He shoved Rich back, and then turned and walked down the steps. 

**Well, we won’t have to deal with him anymore.**

_How could you?_

**How could I what?**

_How could you do that to Brooke? To Jake? To God knows how many people you made me hurt over the last year?_

**Everything I did was for you.** The SQUIP’s electronic voice burned with a sensation Rich didn’t know it was capable of: anger.

_You told me you wouldn’t do anything to Brooke and Jake’s relationship._

**Not doing anything conflicted with your overall goal. To get to the top, you have to be willing to make sacrifices, Rich.**

Rich shook his head. _No. You don’t care about me. All you care about is achieving your stupid goal._

Another shock. **I am not going to deviate from my programming, Rich.**

_You know what? I’m done._

**You can’t be done, Rich. You can’t get rid of me.**

Rich’s gaze went to the bathroom door, and an idea hit him. 

**Rich.**

He was in too deep. 

**Rich, I urge you to reconsider.**

There was only one way out now. 

**April, stop right now.**

Rich stopped in his tracks momentarily, then shook his head and started walking, despite the final and most painful shock yet.

Jenna Rolan was sitting outside the bathroom, her phone plugged into an outlet in the wall. 

“Hey, Jenna?” 

“Hm?” 

“If you see Jake...” Rich bit his lip. “If you see Jake, tell him that Rich said he’s so, so sorry. For everything.”


	13. Halloween Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another huge trigger warning, for a suicide attempt at the end of this chapter. Please stay safe, y’all.

“There you are.”

Christine was sitting against the side of Jake’s house at nine o’clock on Halloween night, waiting for Chloe to meet up with them. 

“Hey, Chloe.” Christine stood up, brushing the mulch off the back of her princess dress. 

“Why didn’t you guys just go in?” Chloe asked, her phone flashlight shining in Christine’s face. 

“We wanted to wait for you.” Jeremy said, standing up. His cyborg costume had little twinkling lights on it that were now dwarfed in comparison to the light of Chloe’s phone flashlight.

“Well, Brooke just left the party.” Chloe huffed. 

“What?” Michael groaned. “No freaking way.” 

Chloe nodded grimly. “Yep. And to make matters worse, she didn’t even want to talk to me.” 

“Are you sure it wasn’t her SQUIP?” Dustin asked. He was dressed up as Marty McFly from _Back to the Future_. 

“Yeah. Because I saw her drinking Sprite with vodka in it beforehand.”

“Oh man.” Michael groaned. He had on a black cloak and had drawn a lightning bolt scar on his forehead using Christine’s red lipstick. 

“Well, we can still find Rich.” Christine said. 

“I looked for him for thirty fucking minutes.” Chloe sighed. “I couldn’t find him anywhere.” 

“Well, we’ll be able to find him if we work together.” Christine clapped her hands together. 

“Should we split up? You know, try and cover more ground?” Michael asked. 

“I guess.” Jeremy shrugged. 

“Sure.” Chloe said.

“I’ll go talk to some of the stoners. See if they saw him.” Dustin said. 

“Chloe and I can cover the kitchen and upstairs.” Michael shot Jeremy a wink. 

“Uh, well, I guess Christine and I could cover the, uh, dance area.” Jeremy shrugged. 

“Sounds like a plan.” Chloe nodded. She then turned to the side of the house again and knelt down. 

“What are you doing?” Christine asked. 

“Searching for the goddamned key- got it.” Chloe stood up again, holding a slightly tarnished bronze house key. 

“How do you know where the key is?” Jeremy asked as the five of them walked to the back door, which was illuminated by a single flickering porch light. 

“I’ve been here behind Jake’s parents’ back too many times to count on both hands.” Chloe said as she jammed the key into the lock. She cursed under her breath as she attempted to turn the key, until she finally got it a minute later. 

“Put the key back in the rain gutter.” Chloe instructed as she handed the key to Michael. “...please.” She added after a second. 

Michael nodded and momentarily disappeared around the side of the house. When he came back a few seconds later, Christine and the others steeled themselves and walked into the house. 

Christine should have known what to expect, given the fact that she’d already lived through Jake’s Halloween party once before. That didn’t stop the party from hitting her all at once like a freight train. 

Christine wasn’t a party person. The only reason she’d gone to the Halloween party originally was because she was dating Jake (at the time). The only reason she was here _now_ was because she needed to be here, to stop the SQUIPs. 

Usually, whenever she went to parties, they were cast parties after she’d finished a play or musical. Those parties weren’t even parties, by the definition her peers went by: they mostly consisted of Christine and her fellow cast members sitting on a couch in someone’s basement, drinking soda and laughing at dumb inside jokes. Sometimes there would be a few people playing video games. Usually there would be a game like Apples to Apples or Monopoly for people who wanted to play them. 

This party was not like that cast party. At this party, almost everyone had some form of alcoholic drink. Christine knew it was alcohol because she could smell it everywhere. From cups, from people’s breath... the whole party carried the reeking scent of alcohol. 

There was music pounding from somewhere in the house, but Christine could barely hear it over the various conversations that were occurring all around her. A snowball effect happened with the conversations, where the sounds of the party were so loud that the people talking had to be louder so they could be heard, which resulted in everyone around them having to be loud as well. All in all, it made for a very unpleasant cacophony that rung in her ears and made her wish she was home in her bed. 

Jeremy seemed to be taking the noise even worse than her. Every muscle in his body was tensed like a tightly coiled spring. Christine reached over and squeezed his hand. He looked over at her and gave a small smile, and his shoulders relaxed a bit.

“Is this what the popular kids do in their free time?” Michael yelled over the noise to Dustin, who nodded. 

“Yeah. Usually there’s not costumes involved, though.” 

Christine passed a girl dressed as Cinderella who was eagerly kissing a boy dressed as Wolverine. 

“OTP.” Dustin whispered into Christine’s ear, which caused Christine to laugh out loud. That drew her some funny looks from the couple, but they quickly resumed their kissing like nothing had happened. 

“Alright. We all have each other’s numbers, right?” Chloe asked. 

“I don’t think any of us have yours.” Christine said. 

“Alright. Give me your phones and I’ll put it in.” 

Christine fished her phone out of her purse and handed it to Chloe, who quickly punched in her number and gave it back to Christine. 

“If any of us find anything, we’ll text each other.” Chloe said. “Deal?” 

Christine nodded. 

“Yep.” Michael said. 

“Sure thing.” Jeremy pulled at the sleeve of his costume. 

“Alright, let’s do this.” Dustin grinned. 

With that, the five of them separated and went off to their designated areas. 

If Christine had thought the _hallway_ was bad, the dance floor and surrounding area was even worse. 

Dozens of people were crammed into the living room, dancing wildly and yelling along to the songs at the top of their lungs. The stink of alcohol was even stronger now, and it was accompanied by an oddly sweet, citrus-like smell that may or may not have been marijuana. The smell was so sudden and strong that Christine actually coughed upon entering the room. 

“So, we’re trying to find Rich, right? Any idea what he’s dressed as?” Jeremy asked. 

Christine shook her head. “No.” She pulled out her cell phone again, the charms she’d attached to the case clinking together, and texted Chloe.

_Hey,_ she wrote, _What’s Rich’s costume again?_

A few seconds later, Chloe responded, _think he was jason or smth_. 

“Jason.” Christine said, looking up at Jeremy while simultaneously trying to shove her phone back into her purse. 

“Jason Voorhees?” Jeremy asked, an expression of confusion on his face.

Christine shrugged. “I guess. I’m not exactly a horror aficionado.” 

“Me neither.” Jeremy bit his lip and looked towards the dance crowd. “I guess we, uh, look there first.” He didn’t seem too thrilled about it. Neither was Christine, if she was being totally honest.

Still, Christine gripped Jeremy’s hand even tighter and started to walk into the fray. 

Within twenty seconds, she was shoved by someone dancing. Within thirty, someone spilled a liquid she couldn’t name all down the front of her princess dress. 

“Come on.” Jeremy groaned. “How hard is it to find _one_ Jason Voorhees?” 

Someone stumbled back into Christine, causing her to lose her grip on Jeremy’s hand. She turned around to see who’s bumped into her and came face-to-face with a blonde guy, one of the football players, dressed as Terminator.

“Woah, what’s this?” The Terminator guy gave a sloppy, drunk smile. “A princess?” 

“I’m sorry, I should have been looking where I was going-“ 

“Don’t apologize, sweetheart.” The guy reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. “After all, it’s probably destiny. What do you say? Make me your Prince Charming.” 

“I-“ A knot formed in Christine’s stomach, and her heart started racing. This guy was bigger than her. He was probably drunk. She shot Jeremy a look, a pleading _please-help-me-I’m-kind-of-screwed_ look. 

“Actually, uh, I’m her date.” Jeremy said, raising his hand slightly. 

The guy scoffed. “Yeah, right. Like a pretty girl like her would go out with a loser like you.” 

“He’s very nice.” Christine stepped back away from the Terminator guy and grabbed Jeremy’s hand again. _Unlike you,_ she mentally added. 

The guy looked like he was about to start something, but stopped. “Whatever,” he scoffed, “you’re not even that cute anyway.” 

After the guy stormed off, Christine let out a relieved breath. “Oh my gosh.” She whispered. 

“You’re shaking.” Jeremy said. “Want to sit down?” 

“But Rich-“ 

“We can take a minute.” 

Christine almost argued further, but decided that sitting down and resting sounded remarkably good. “Okay.” 

The two of them made their way through the throng of dancers and managed to find a couch that had been pushed to the side, away from the madness. 

“That was wild.” Christine said as she sank into the soft white cushions. 

“Agreed.” Jeremy nodded. 

“This party is crazy.” Christine remarked. 

“Yeah. Popular people are...” Jeremy’s voice trailed off.

“Weird?” 

“I was going to say _insane_ , but that works better.” 

Christine laughed, and Jeremy soon started laughing too. 

“You’re funny, Jeremy.” Christine smiled, still trying to catch her breath from laughing. 

Jeremy’s face went red. “Uh... yeah. Guess I am.” He sucked in a breath. “Hey, Christine, there’s actually, uh, something I wanted to ask you.” 

“Really?” Christine say up straighter. “What is it?” 

“Christine... you’re an amazing person. You’re funny, you’re talented, you’re kind... you don’t care what anybody thinks of you. You just do what you want, and you never worry about looking stupid or dorky-“ Jeremy stopped talking and sighed. “My point is, Christine, I wanted to ask you... I wanted to ask-“ 

“Jeremy.” Christine reached out and took his hand. “Just say what’s on your mind?” 

“Will you go out with me?” 

“Jeremy...” Christine began. “Of course.” 

“Really?” Jeremy’s eyes widened, and a joyous smile appeared on his face. “You mean it?” 

“Yes.” Christine smiled back, and squeezed Jeremy’s hand. “Just... maybe let’s postpone the first date until after we stop the robot apocalypse.” 

“I can do that.” Jeremy grinned. 

Christine threw her arms around him and pulled him into a hug, and they stayed like that for a good long while before Christine’s phone buzzed with a text from Chloe. It read, _you guys find him _.__

__“What should I say?” Christine asked._ _

__“We haven’t been able to find him, and I imagine it would be remarkably easy to spot a Jason who’s 5’4” and has a red streak in his hair.”_ _

__Christine texted back, _No. You?__ _

_____no,_ Chloe wrote back. _no sign of him. meet us in upstairs hallway._ _ _ _ _

____“She said we should meet them in the upstairs hallway.” Christine stood up, and Jeremy followed._ _ _ _

____As they were walking to the staircase, Christine passed a purple Yankee candle on a side table that had been lit, perhaps unwisely._ _ _ _

____“We should blow out that candle.” A soft, sweet voice came from behind Christine, and a girl with olive skin whose face was mostly obscured by a white beaded mask leaned in and put the glass cover over the candle. In no time at all, the flame had been snuffed out._ _ _ _

____“Yeah.” Christine said. “It wouldn’t be very good if something caught on...”_ _ _ _

____Her voice trailed off as a thought hit her. Somehow, in the last few days, one crucial piece of information had managed to slip her mind._ _ _ _

____“Christine?” Jeremy looked back at her from the first step on the staircase._ _ _ _

____“Fire.” Christine whispered softly as it hit her like a lightning strike. “Fire.” She repeated again, this time more loudly. “We need to find Rich right now!” She yelled, running past Jeremy and up the steps._ _ _ _

____“Woah, Christine, what’s going on?” Jeremy asked as he followed her up the stairs._ _ _ _

____Christine didn’t answer. Instead, she just kept running until she caught sight of Dustin, Michael, and Chloe standing in the hallway._ _ _ _

____“Hey, Christine, what’s the matter?” Michael barely had time to get the question out before Christine started talking._ _ _ _

____“We need to find Rich _right now_ , you guys.” Christine gasped for breath. “We need to find him, otherwise a bunch of people could get hurt.” _ _ _ _

____Chloe’s eyes widened. “Wait, Christine, what are you-“_ _ _ _

____“How did I not remember this?” Christine blurted without thinking._ _ _ _

____Chloe’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Remember what?”_ _ _ _

____“Christine, is something going on?” Dustin asked worriedly._ _ _ _

____“We have to find Rich.” Christine’s pulse quickened and her muscles tightened._ _ _ _

____“Why? Why do we have to find Rich?” Chloe asked, her voice tinged with fear and alarm._ _ _ _

____“Because if we don’t, Rich is going to do something horrible and people could get hurt.” Christine’s throat felt like it was closing up._ _ _ _

____“How do you know?” Michael asked._ _ _ _

____“I...” Christine panted, weighing her options. “I... I’ll explain everything later, but right now we _need_ to find Rich.” _ _ _ _

____Chloe nodded. “Alright.”_ _ _ _

____“What?” Michael looked surprised._ _ _ _

____“She’s telling the truth. Christine’s not the type to pull our legs like this.” Jeremy said._ _ _ _

____“Yeah. But you owe us a damn good explanation later, Christine.” Chloe said._ _ _ _

____“I will. I’ll explain everything. But for now, ask around, see if anyone at this party saw Rich recently.”_ _ _ _

____Everyone nodded and split up. Dustin went down the hallway, Chloe went to a group of girls leaning against the wall, Michael went to two guys standing outside the open door to Jake’s parents’ bedroom, and Jeremy went back downstairs._ _ _ _

____Christine went downstairs also, scanning the room for people who knew Rich..._ _ _ _

____The stars must have aligned in that moment, because the first person she saw was Jake Dillinger._ _ _ _

____“Jake!” Christine yelled over the chaos, and ran up to him. “Jake, have you seen Rich anywhere?”_ _ _ _

____“That asshole?” Jake growled. “I hope he’s out of my house.”_ _ _ _

____“Please, Jake, where did you last see him?”_ _ _ _

____“Why do you want to know?” Jake asked, then looked her over. “Hey, did I even _invite_ you-“ _ _ _ _

____“Jake!” A girl dressed as Poison Ivy walked up to the two of them. “Sorry to interrupt, but someone’s hogging the second-floor bathroom. They’ve been in there for fucking forever.”_ _ _ _

____“Look, I have to deal with this right now.” Jake said, and walked off._ _ _ _

____“Jake!” Christine called as she followed him up the stairs. “Jake, please-“_ _ _ _

____“Hey!” Jake banged on the bathroom door. “Open up! Other people have to use the bathroom too!”_ _ _ _

____No answer._ _ _ _

____“Hey! There better not be a hookup going on in there!” Jake yelled._ _ _ _

____Silence._ _ _ _

____By this time, a crowd had gathered. Christine pushed through in an attempt to get to Jake. “Hey!” She yelled to the person on the other side._ _ _ _

____Still nothing._ _ _ _

____“Excuse me.” A familiar voice sounded out from behind Christine. She turned to see Madeline, dressed up like a mime._ _ _ _

____“Madeline!” Christine smiled brightly._ _ _ _

____“Christine!” Madeline threw her arms around Christine in a short yet affectionate hug. Madeline then turned to Jake, and if looks could kill, Jake would have been dead. “Hey, Jake.”_ _ _ _

____“Madeline, I’m kind of busy right now-“ Jake was currently trying to ram the door in with his shoulder._ _ _ _

____“Let me handle this.” Madeline took something out of her hair that glinted faintly in the light- a bobby-pin. She pressed the pin against the doorframe and flattened it out with one finger, then bent it a little. After she was done, she stuck the bent bobby-pin into the lock and started turning._ _ _ _

____“Where’d you learn how to pick locks?” Christine asked, curious._ _ _ _

____“Someone threw a lockpick at the back of my head freshman year and I thought ‘when life gives you lemons’.” Madeline said, standing up. “It’s open.”_ _ _ _

____Jake put his hand on the doorknob, eyebrows raising in astonishment when it turned. “Alright, whoever’s in there, we’re coming in!”_ _ _ _

____Christine looked over Jake’s shoulder as the door opened-_ _ _ _

____And promptly hit something._ _ _ _

____“What the hell?” Jake murmured, using a little more force to shove the door open._ _ _ _

____Christine looked past Jake through the open door frame and promptly stopped in her tracks._ _ _ _

____There was a second of shocked, stunned silence before Christine screamed._ _ _ _

____“Holy shit.” Jake murmured. “Holy shit, someone call an ambulance right now!”_ _ _ _

____Someone in the crowd took out their cell phone. “Hello?” They said. “Someone- there’s been a suicide attempt at 5685 Tracz Boulevard. Please, send an ambulance right now!”_ _ _ _

____Christine couldn’t move. She couldn’t breath. She couldn’t do anything except stare at the unconscious Rich Goranski, lying on the bathroom floor, and the half-empty bottle of pills clutched in his left hand._ _ _ _


	14. Input

Brooke was sitting on her bed Monday morning, scrolling through her phone’s message feed, which had blown up during the previous night. A pit of terror settled in her stomach, one that was growing by the minute.

_Oh my God... this is awful! Rich tried to kill himself last night at the Halloween party!_ Brooke felt tears prick at her eyes. She knew she shouldn’t be upset. Rich had tried to kiss her, after all, knowing full well she had a boyfriend-

**You are aware that was Rich’s SQUIP, correct?**

_What?_

**Rich’s SQUIP noticed Rich displayed jealousy upon hearing that you and Jake were together. The SQUIP then informed Rich that he had a crush on you-**

_He had a crush on me?_

**Or so his SQUIP said. In reality, his SQUIP was most likely misleading him.**

_But why?_

**Conflict. If something clashes with its user’s desire, it is in a SQUIP’s nature to remove it.**

_So the SQUIP made Rich kiss me._

**Correct.**

_Did the SQUIP make him try and kill himself?_

**No. That was entirely Rich’s doing.**

_But why? Why would he do it?_

**Rich was under a lot of pressure at home. The argument, the fight- it was the last straw for him.**

_Did you know this was going to happen?_

**I made calculations.**

_You made me leave the party._ Brooke stood up. _After Jake got mad, you came back on and told me I had to leave. I could have helped him!_

**I’m getting the impression you don’t trust me, Brooke.**

_I could have helped him! Just like I could have helped Jake-_

**There is human error, Brooke, and I must account for it. It’s one of the most frustrating things about humans, their errors.**

_You were supposed to make everything better!_ A shock ran up Brooke’s spine. 

**Look at yourself. You dress better, you’re 93% more attractive. But human activity... it is a matter of input as well as output.**

_What does that mean?_

**Get dressed. You’re going to school.**

_But the bus isn’t here yet._

**Never mind that.**

So Brooke got dressed, in tight-fitting light blue jeans, a purple tank top, and brown leather jacket. The whole walk to school, she tried to ignore the heavily increasing sinking feeling in her gut. 

**Go find Rich’s locker.**

That turned out to be a relatively simple task. Rich’s locker was visible even from a distance. Several people had taped cards to it, and a sign that said “Get Well Soon, Rich” had been taped to the front. Someone had even left a bouquet of flowers at the bottom of the locker. 

**Open it.**

_But I don’t know the combination-_

Her hand suddenly jerked up and turned the dial, inputting a combination that Brooke didn’t recognize. The lock gave a faint click, and when Brooke pushed up on it, it opened. 

**See that box?**

Brooke nodded and grabbed a brown cardboard box. _Ladies’ running shoes? Why does Rich have these in his locker?_

**Open it up.**

Cautiously, Brooke propped the lid of the box open with one hand, and gasped. 

_Holy shit. There’s gotta be enough SQUIP pills in here for-_

**The entire school.** The SQUIP smiled menacingly. 

“Hey, Brooke?” Jake’s voice came from behind Brooke. She turned around, quickly slamming the lid of the shoe box closed. 

_And it’s Jake. Fuck._

“Hey, Jake.” Brooke shifted uncomfortably. 

“I wanted to talk to you.” Up close, Jake’s eyes were red, like he’d recently been crying.

“Look, Jake, about last night-“ 

“I never gave you the chance to share your side of the story. And I’m really, really sorry.” Jake’s voice was weak and frighteningly small.

“Jake...” Brooke reached out and pulled Jake into a hug. _God knows he needs it._

“I just... I can’t help feel like it’s my fault somehow. I told him-“ Jake choked back something that sounded like a sob. “I told him to get out of my house, Brooke. I told him I never wanted to see him again.” 

_What should I do?_

**Ask if he’s still mad at Rich.**

“Are you...” Brooke bit her lip. “Are you still mad at him?” 

Jake sighed. “I mean, kind of, yeah. But right now, I’m just really happy he’s alive and stable.”

“I understand.” 

“God, I just wish... I wish there was something I could do. I feel so- I feel so powerless.” 

**He’s miserable, Brooke. But you can help him.**

_Really? How?_

**Offer him a SQUIP.**

_What?_

**Think about it. Jake is suffering. You’ve been telling me how you wish you could help him- this is your chance, Brooke. With a SQUIP, Jake doesn’t have to doubt himself ever again.**

“Hey...” Brooke’s voice trailed off. “If you want, I have something that’ll help take the edge off.” 

“What?” Jake asked. 

Brooke reached into the box and took out a single SQUIP pill. “This.” 

“Woah.” Jake took the pill out of Brooke’s hand and examined it. “What the hell is this?” 

Brooke stopped for a moment, but suddenly the perfect words were in her brain, and coming out of her mouth. “It’s a minor depressant drug. Helps you calm down, but not enough to be dangerous.” 

“Is it legal?” Jake’s eyes widened.

**Tell him it’s over-the-counter.**

“Over-the-counter.” Brooke smiled gently. 

Jake sighed. “I guess I could use something to call down after last night. Do I just swallow it or-“ 

“You take it with Mountain Dew.” Brooke instructed. 

“Why Mountain Dew?” Jake asked. 

**Tell him that some ingredient in the Mountain Dew helps the drug activate faster.**

“Some ingredient in Mountain Dew helps it activate faster.” Brooke shrugged. 

“Alright. Where’s a vending machine...” Jake looked around. 

**Give him the bottle in your backpack.**

_I have a bottle in my backpack?_

**Yes. Remember, I had you put it there?**

Brooke _did_ vaguely remember the SQUIP having her put a bottle of Mountain Dew in her backpack a few days earlier. She shrugged off her backpack, put it down on the floor, and began rooting around. 

“I think I have one...” Brooke’s hand closed around a plastic bottle. “Got it.” She handed the bottle to Jake. 

“So I just... drink the Mountain Dew?” 

“Yep. Drink it, put the pill in your mouth, and swallow it.” Brooke nodded. 

She watched as Jake took a sip of Mountain Dew, put the SQUIP pill in his mouth... and swallowed. 

“Is it supposed to taste all minty like this?” Jake’s face scrunched up into an expression of confusion. 

“Yeah.” Brooke said. 

“Okay- _Jesus fucking Christ!_ ” Jake suddenly jumped up and grabbed his head. “Man, that hurts like a _bitch_!” 

_What’s wrong with him?_

**The SQUIP is accessing his brain.**

“Is it supposed to hurt-“ Jake winced. “-like this?!” 

Brooke weakly nodded. “Yeah, one of the side effects is... aching.” 

“This isn’t- ow! This isn’t _aching_.” Jake yelled. 

After another minute, Jake finally stood up. But he looked... different. He stood up taller, the red around his eyes was gone, and he was smiling. Which you didn’t usually do after being shocked into Kingdom come. 

“That did help, Brooke. Thanks.” Jake grinned. “Hey, mind if I take another one of those pills for the road? I got someone who might really need it.” 

**Give it to him.**

“Sure.” Brooke said faintly. She reached into the shoebox and pulled out another gray pill, then handed it to Jake. 

“Thanks.” Jake said. “Hey, I gotta bounce, but I’ll talk to you later.” 

“‘Kay.” Brooke nodded as Jake walked off, the bottle of Mountain Dew still clenched in his hand. 

_He looked... happy._ Brooke thought. _I really helped him._

**And that’s just the beginning. Imagine if everyone else had one. There wouldn’t be error anymore. There wouldn’t be fear. All the negative aspects of life would be gone, and the positive ones would remain.**

_If I can help one person, I can help everyone._

**Exactly. You’ll improve everyone’s lives. No one will be in pain anymore. But I can’t do it alone. So what do you say, Brooke?** The SQUIP smiled in a way that was almost sweet. **Help me save those pitiful children?**

Brooke thought for a moment, then nodded. _Yes._

***

It was lunchtime, and Christine was sitting in the stairwell and wondering just how she was going to explain everything to her friends. 

_I could say I saw it in a dream- no, I’d look insane. I could say I used to be friends with Rich and he called me before the party- no, I don’t want to lie any more than I have to._

Christine sighed. 

“Alright.” Chloe’s voice rang out from the bottom of the stairwell. “Christine, you said you’d explain everything to us.” 

“Yep. You guys deserve to know.” Christine said, looking down. Michael, Chloe, Dustin, Jeremy... all four of them were there, looking equally concerned. 

“What is it?” Dustin sat down on the stairs. 

“The truth is...” Christine bit her lip. She was taking a huge gamble right now, but she couldn’t see any other ways out. “The truth is... I knew it was going to happen because I experienced it before. Well, not exactly _it,_ but something like it.” 

There was silence. 

“Are you serious?” Chloe growled. “What, we’re supposed to believe you’re a goddamn time traveler?” 

“No!” Christine sighed. “Just...” 

And she told the whole story. The Woman In White. Stealing the SQUIP from Jeremy, throwing it away in the pill in the trash can. Brooke finding it. The Halloween party. Everything coming back to her. 

Afterwards, there was again shocked silence for an unbearably long time. 

“Wow.” Michael finally said. “Just... wow.”

“Is this some kind of joke?” Chloe asked angrily. 

“I’m not joking!” Christine said, her heart thumping. 

“Oh, sure, you magically got sent back in time by some magic fairy. Totally believable. Doesn’t sound like you’re on crack at all.” Chloe scoffed.

“Hey, watch what you say. That’s my cousin you’re talking to.” Dustin scowled. 

“Oh, so you believe her?” Chloe groaned. “You’re just as crazy as her!” 

“Don’t call him crazy!” Michael stood up. 

“You know what? I think I wasted enough time.” Chloe growled. “This whole thing is stupid. Have fun telling fairytales.” 

And with that, Chloe stormed out, fists clenched, leaving her lunch tray on the stairs. 

Christine slumped back against the wall, biting her lip and fighting back tears. “I messed everything up.” She whispered. 

“Hey, Christie.” Dustin put his hand on her shoulder. “Hey, come here.” 

And Christine let her cousin hug her, and she let _herself_ cry. 

“Shh.” Dustin whispered. “It’s gonna be alright.” 

“You all... why do you believe me?” Christine choked out. 

“Well... I don’t. Not necessarily.” Dustin said. “But you’re my cousin. And it’s my job to stick by you no matter what.” 

“And you’re my girlfriend.” Christine felt Jeremy’s hand on her shoulder. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t stick with you through thick and thin?” 

“A logical one.” Christine hiccuped. 

“Screw logic.” Jeremy said, and Christine laughed despite herself. “We’re trying to stop edible supercomputers from causing a possible robot apocalypse. Logic left the chat, like, a long time ago.” 

“Seeing as my boyfriend is still here, as well as Jeremy, I’m sort of obligated to stay as well.” Michael shrugged and took a sip from a bottle of Sprite. 

“I didn’t know you liked Sprite.” Dustin remarked. 

“I didn’t. But I wasn’t feeling too good when I woke up and my _Inay_ made me take this. Said it would help settle my stomach.” Michael remarked. “The thing is, it went missing for a good chunk of French class. Then it came back and the label was all messed up.” Michael pointed to the label of the bottle, which looked close to falling off. 

“Why’s that?” Jeremy asked. 

Michael shrugged again. “Guess they thought it would be funny.” 

“Hey, Christine.” Dustin had his phone out. “What did you say that lady in your dream looked like again?” 

“Olive skin, white dress, gold headband, black hair.” 

Dustin typed in something. “Like this?” He held his phone screen out to Christine. On the screen was an image of a tile mosaic displaying _her._

“Woah. Where’d you find this?” Christine asked. 

“That’s a mosaic of Enena, the goddess of second chances. She was a really prominent figure in a lot of Mesoamerican tribal culture.” Dustin said. “The story goes that a mortal went to her temple asking for help, because her lover was a soldier who had been killed in battle. Enena took pity on the mortal and sent her back in time to save her lover.” 

“Did she succeed?” Jeremy asked. 

Dustin nodded. “Yes, but Enena paid the ultimate price for her act of kindness. The other gods were not pleased with Enena altering the laws of time for a mortal, and for her punishment, they stripped her of most of her powers and exiled her to a prison where she could never be of any significance again. Over time, she was practically forgotten. This mosaic is the only thing that remains of her tale.” 

“How do you know all this?” Christine asked, amazed. Because of Dustin, the woman in white now had a name. _Enena._

“I’m in AP Art History, Christie.” Dustin smirked. Upon seeing their confused faces, he added, “What? I’m a drug dealer, yeah, that doesn’t mean I don’t value my education.” 

Suddenly, Michael winced. “Agh.” 

“You good?” Jeremy asked, looking concerned.

“Yeah, just-“ Michael winced again. “Just got a really bad headache.” 

“Do you want to go to the nurse?” Christine asked. 

Michael shook his head. “No. I’m just gonna-“ He stood up, still wincing. “Just gonna go sit in the storage closet for a bit. Away from bright lights.” 

“Alright.” Dustin nodded. 

Michael left, leaving Christine, Dustin, and Jeremy sitting alone. 

“So you guys are still gonna help me?” Christine asked. 

“Duh. You can’t get rid of me that easily.” Dustin playfully shoved Christine. 

“Me neither.” Jeremy squeezed Christine’s hand. “We’re gonna get to the bottom of this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, Michael, that Sprite must have been a bad bottle! ;) (on an unrelated note, I wonder who Jake used that extra SQUIP on???)


	15. Watched

It was Jeremy’s idea to visit Rich in the hospital. “Maybe we’ll be able to talk to him and find out something that can help us.” 

“That’s actually a pretty good idea.” Dustin had said. 

“I don’t know, you guys. What if Rich doesn’t want to talk to us, or his SQUIP doesn’t let him?” Michael had shifted in his seat. 

“His family is bound to be there. We can ask them.” Christine had said. “Maybe one of _them_ knows something.”

And that was why the four of them were sitting in Michael’s car on their way to the Middleborough General Hospital, with All Star playing on the radio. (Dustin had picked that song. He said that it was his right as the person sitting in the shotgun seat.) 

Christine was staring out the window as the car moved down the road. The leaves on the trees were starting to turn brown and fall to the ground, the transition to November making it feel more like early winter than late fall. She really, really hoped they learned something useful from this visit. God only knew how much they needed it. 

“You alright?” Jeremy nudged Christine slightly, shaking her from her trance. 

“Yeah.” Christine smiled, but the past couple days weighed so heavily on her that she didn’t have the spirit to smile very much. 

“I know... I know that it hit you pretty hard. Rich going to the hospital and all.” Jeremy said. 

Christine nodded. “It was... jarring. You know? And the scary part is, it’s common.” 

“Yeah, I...” Jeremy bit his lip. “I know.” 

“I just wish there was some other way we could help him.” Christine sighed. 

“I think getting the SQUIPs out is the only thing we can do right now.” Jeremy smiled sadly. 

Christine reached across the seat and took Jeremy’s hand, and the two didn’t let go for a very long time. 

“We’re here.” Michael said as the car rolled to a stop in the parking lot. 

“All right.” Dustin got out of the car. “You all know our plan?” 

“We find Rich, we see if he’s open for visitors, and we ask his family if he’s not.” Christine counted off the items on her finger as she spoke.

“You got it.” Dustin made fingerguns at Christine.

Michael was still silent even as they made their way to the hospital’s front door. Something about the perpetual quietness from him unnerved Christine, so she edged herself up next to him. 

“Hey, you good?” 

Michael looked at Christine, as if he’d just noticed her present. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m cool. Just... spacing out a bit.” 

Something about his answer didn’t satisfy Christine. “Are you sure?” 

“Yes.” Michael nodded and put his headphones over his ears, the universal ‘this-conversation-is-over’ signal. Still, something unnerved Christine. The way he’d said it, the lack of conceivable emotion in his voice... it actually made Christine shudder. 

“Hey...” Dustin said as he walked up to the receptionist desk. “We’re here to visit someone.” 

“Name?” The receptionist asked in a tired voice. 

“My name’s Dustin Kropp.” 

“Not your name. The patient’s.” The receptionist sounded exasperated. 

“Oh, uh, Richard Goranski.” 

“One moment, please.” The receptionist turned to her computer and typed in something, then turned back to Dustin. “Room 420. Visiting hours are over at five.” 

“Thanks.” Christine gave the receptionist a smile, but was met only with a dismissive wave. 

“Heh. 420. Fitting, huh, Mike?” Dustin elbowed Michael gently, but Michael didn’t say anything. 

“Hey, Mike. Michael. Earth to Michael Mell.” Dustin called, tapping Michael on the shoulder. 

“Huh?” Michael took off his headphones.

“I was just saying, 420. It fits.” Dustin’s smile faltered the tiniest bit. 

“Oh. I get it.” Michael chuckled, but Dustin didn’t look convinced. Still, he didn’t press the issue as Jeremy hit the buttons to take them up to the fourth floor. 

“Hey. Did you guys ever wonder why the elevator buttons go straight from twelve to fourteen?” Jeremy broke the silence in an obvious attempt to ease the tension in the air.

“No. Why is that?” Christine asked. 

“It’s because it’s supposed to be bad luck to have a thirteenth floor, so they just skip it.” Jeremy shrugged. “Pretty weird, huh?”

“Wait, wait.” Dustin held up a hand. “Wouldn’t that make the fourteenth floor the thirteenth floor?” 

“I guess?” Jeremy shrugged. 

“Do they just, like, build a thirteenth floor but have the elevator skip it?” Dustin asked. 

“No, they still technically have a thirteenth floor, but it’s called the fourteenth floor, so it’s not the thirteenth floor.” Christine said. 

“You’re giving me an existential crisis.” Dustin groaned. “This is worse than the time I watched a conspiracy video about the moon landing being faked while I was stoned, and by the end of it I was convinced the moon wasn’t even real.” 

“Wow, we’re on the same level as weed now!” Jeremy said. 

“Just what I always wanted.” Christine faked sincerity in her voice. 

The elevator bell dinged and the doors slid open, signaling that they’d reached the fourth floor. “Thank God.” Dustin said as they walked out. “Ten more seconds in that elevator and I was about to start questioning my existence again.” 

“Again?” Christine raised her eyebrows, but Dustin was preoccupied looking at the direction sign that pointed to where the rooms were. 

“Okay, 410-440 are that way.” Dustin pointed left. 

Christine brushed her way past a nurse with .a clipboard to catch up with the others as they made their way down the hall. When they got to the door labeled Room 420, a nurse with short dark hair was sitting beside the door, checking something on a spreadsheet. The name tag attached to her scrubs read “Nurse Sawyer”. 

“Excuse us.” Christine said, and the nurse looked up from her clipboard. 

“Oh. Are you here to visit Mr. Goranski?” The nurse asked.

Christine nodded. “Yeah, we’re... his classmates from school.” 

Nurse Sawyer stood up. “I’m afraid that Mr. Goranski is asleep right now. I could leave a message, however.” 

Suddenly, the door to the hospital room opened and who looked about twenty-one stepped out. “Are you here to see Rich?” He asked. 

“Yes, but if he’s asleep, we were hoping we could talk to his family.” Dustin said. 

“I’m his brother.” Up close, the man had red under his eyes. It was easy to tell that he’d recently been crying. “The name’s Matt.” 

“I’m Christine. This is Dustin, Jeremy, and Michael.” Christine pointed to each member of their group in turn as she introduced them. 

“Are you Rich’s friends?” Matt asked. 

“Not exactly, but we were hoping we could ask a few questions.” 

“About what?” Matt’s eyes narrowed slightly, but not enough to look angry. 

“About...” Christine’s voice trailed off and her eyes went to Nurse Sawyer. Maybe she didn’t want to discuss illegal nano-drugs in front of a nurse. 

“Do you guys want me to give you a minute?” Nurse Sawyer asked. 

“Yes, please.” Matt said. 

Nurse Sawyer nodded and stepped into the hospital room, shutting the door behind her. 

“Now, what was it you wanted to ask me about?” Matt lowered his voice. 

“Did you ever hear your brother talk about something called a SQUIP?” Christine asked. 

In an instant, Matt’s face fell. “What?” 

“A SQUIP. Did your brother ever talk about taking one?” 

Matt’s eyes widened. “This can’t be happening. Oh God.” 

“Matt?” Jeremy asked. 

“I...” Matt’s voice was shaky. “I was the one who told him.” 

“Told him about what?” Dustin asked, raising his eyebrows. 

“SQUIPs. I told him. Oh, God.” 

“You told him about SQUIPs?” Christine couldn’t hide the disbelief in her voice. 

Matt nodded. “He was having a rough time. I’d just left for college, he was alone at home, because our dad stayed out late drinking and when he was home, it wasn’t fun. This girl in my Political Science class, she told me about this thing called a SQUIP. She said that it helped her with her social anxiety.” 

“And you told Rich about them.” Christine said, the realization coming to her. 

Matt nodded. “ I didn’t look it up on the Internet or anything. It was stupid of me, I know. But I just wanted to help him... I wasn’t even thinking.” 

“Did Rich... did you ever find out any way to stop a SQUIP?” Dustin asked, caution in his voice. 

Matt shook his head. “When I came back for Christmas break, he didn’t say anything. I figured that he hadn’t looked into it.” 

“Did the girl with the SQUIP, did she... did she do anything like Rich did?” Christine didn’t want to know the answer, but she needed to. 

“The story goes that during a party, she completely flipped out. A total mental breakdown. She started screaming for someone to ‘get this thing out of my head’. An ambulance got called. Her roommate said that when they went to visit her in the hospital, she didn’t recognize anything or anyone. She was just staring ahead, completely blank.” Matt sighed. 

“Did they ever find out what caused it?” Jeremy asked. 

“No.” Matt answered. “That’s when I knew something was wrong with SQUIPs. I tried to talk to Rich. I asked him over and over if he took a SQUIP, but he said no every time. I did my own research, but I didn’t find anything. So I just... stopped. I figured if Rich said he didn’t take one, well, I trusted him. And then I got back for summer break and he’d changed. But I still didn’t put two and two together. And now my brother is in the fucking hospital because I was an idiot.” 

“Hey.” Christine put a hand on Matt’s arm. “You’re _not_ an idiot. You just made mistakes.” 

“A mistake that put my brother in the hospital.” Matt’s voice broke. 

“We want to help your brother. That’s the whole reason we’re here.” Dustin said. “Do you know anything about how SQUIPs can be turned off?” 

Matt shook his head. “Not really. I asked a friend who was studying abroad in Japan, and she sent me a manual she’d found, but when I tried to open it, the file got corrupted. It was like someone or _something_ didn’t want me to read it.”

Dustin sighed. “Well.” 

Nurse Sawyer opened the door, startling Christine. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but visiting hours are almost over.” 

“Thank you for your help, Matt.” Christine said, giving a halfhearted smile. 

“If you find out anything, call me.” Matt scribbled something on a scrap of paper and held it out to Christine, who took it. 

With that, the four of them got back into the elevator, spirits significantly lower. Jeremy didn’t even try to make a joke to relieve the tension. Outside, it had started to rain. Fitting.

“Well, that sucked.” Michael groaned. For some reason, that made Dustin look a little... alarmed. 

“Yeah.” Dustin said halfheartedly. “Hey, uh, Michael, can you go get the car? The rest of us will wait here.” 

“Sure thing.” Michael nodded, and walked off into the parking lot. 

“Something’s wrong with Michael.” Dustin turned to Christine as soon as Michael was out of earshot. 

“What?” 

“First, he’s quiet as a fucking mouse the whole time. Second, he doesn’t pay attention when I make a weed joke. I know my boyfriend, Christine, and he laughs at weed jokes. And now he uses the word _sucked_? Michael _hates_ it when people say ‘sucked’.”

Jeremy nodded, his voice suddenly growing scared. “He always said it sounded like a weird sex thing.” 

“What are you...” Christine started to ask, then stopped. 

_The Sprite. The label was falling off._

“Sprite and Mountain Dew bottles are both green.” Christine said. 

“What?” Dustin’s eyes widened. 

“That day at lunch? Michael said that someone took his Sprite bottle and that when he got it back, the label was almost falling off. What if someone took his Sprite bottle, took the label off, and put the label on a Mountain Dew bottle that had a SQUIP in it.” 

“That doesn’t make sense.” Dustin shook his head. “Isn’t it like, crazy painful to get a SQUIP in you? You said that Brooke looked like she was having a seizure.” 

“Michael got a headache.” Jeremy said. “A really bad one. He left the room.” 

“So he... he could have... he could have been...” Dustin started hyperventilating. 

That scared Christine. She’d never seen her cousin this afraid before. Not even when he’d fallen out of a tree in third grade and broke his wrist. 

“Dustin...” 

“Who did this? Who _would_ do this?” Dustin asked. 

“I don’t know, but we can’t talk to Michael about it.” Christine said, even though those words hurt. 

“Why the hell not?” Dustin asked, his eyes narrowed. 

“We have to assume that Michael is being used against us. His SQUIP... it was listening today. The whole time. It knows we’re onto it.” 

That was scarier than anything. The fact that now, they’d blown their cover. 

The fact that now, they were being watched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s heating up, guys!


	16. Curtains

Everything was bright, and Rich was _so tired._

A faint beeping sound came from somewhere in the room, but Rich didn’t know where or _what_ that sound was. All he remembered was going into the bathroom and swallowing the pills. Everything after that was a gigantic blur. He vaguely remembered coming to at one point and hearing screaming and sirens before slipping out of consciousness again, but nothing else. 

He’d woken up a little bit later, with a nurse standing over him telling him to drink a glass she’d just handed him. After drinking it, he’d spent a good long time throwing up.   
It didn’t necessarily feel amazing, however, whatever medication they’d given him seemed to quiet the SQUIP, at least for a little bit. 

The next day, the nurse who’d given him the cup introduced herself as Nurse Sawyer. She told him that she’d given him something called “activated charcoal” that made him throw up all the drugs in his system, and seemingly every last bit of energy he had as well. For the next couple of days, all Rich wanted to do was sleep. 

On the second day, Matt arrived, crying and hyperventilating like Rich had never seen before. He’d hugged Rich like there was no tomorrow, and Rich couldn’t take it anymore- he’d cried too. 

Matt said he’d come as soon as the hospital called him, but all the flights back to New Jersey were booked. So he’d borrowed a friend’s car and driven for almost seventeen hours. 

On the third day, the SQUIP reawakened, and it was not happy. It didn’t shock him, which was weird- maybe the pills had done something to it after all -but it did speak to him. 

**This... is not the end.** It had said through glitches and bit of Japanese. **You will never get rid of me.**

From Rich’s understanding, what he’d done had messed up the SQUIP, but it hadn’t stopped it. For all he knew, the SQUIP would be back soon, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t take his act of rebellion very well. 

He’d asked Matt. “Do you... know anything about how to turn it off?” 

Matt had just shaken his head. “What do you think I’ve been doing for the past few days?” 

It was enough to make Rich feel hopeless. His best friend and crush probably hated him now. (Was Brooke even his crush? It wasn’t like the SQUIP could shock him for doubting it anymore.) He was stuck in the hospital, and he hadn’t even managed to destroy the fucking thing. 

One of the only positives about his hospital stay was getting to know Nurse Sawyer. When he woke up in the middle of the night because the SQUIP invaded his dreams and he couldn’t get back to sleep, he talked with her. 

He’d learned she was from a little town in Ohio, and that she’d gone to Yale University. She had a wife who was a lawyer, and they’d only just gotten married that June. But Nurse Sawyer didn’t seem to like talking about her past very much, so mostly he was the one telling her about himself. 

He told her how he’d been a bully for a long time (he’d left out the part about only doing it because of the SQUIP- he didn’t think it would be very smart to bring up the fact that he used illegal nano-drugs around a nurse) and that he wasn’t proud of it. 

“I’ve done some stuff in my past that I’m not proud of either.” Nurse Sawyer had said, sitting beside Rich’s hospital bed at one in the morning. “And I spent a lot of time looking back on it, wishing I’d done this or that differently. You can’t do that, Rich. It takes a toll on you.” 

Sometimes when Nurse Sawyer was talking, she got a far-away look in her eyes, like she was talking to someone else in the room that Rich couldn’t see. That was what she looked like that night, sitting beside Rich’s hospital bed but making Rich feel like she was a million miles away. 

“What you have to do...” Nurse Sawyer had said, “...is accept the past. Once you accept the past, you can start to shape the present.” 

The only problem with that? If Rich didn’t find a way to get the SQUIP out, he wouldn’t have much choice to shape the present.

***

Christine’s spirits weren’t particularly high the next day at school. After yesterday’s visit to the hospital, she was starting to feel like this whole trip through time had been all for nothing. It wasn’t a good or healthy way of thinking, but she couldn’t stop it. First Brooke had gotten SQUIPped, then Rich ended up in the hospital, and now Michael was SQUIPped. And they were still no closer to finding a way to shut down the things. 

And Christine had tried. She’d wracked her brain trying to remember even the smallest bit from when she was SQUIPped, but she came up empty every single time, try as she might. 

She’d taken to reviewing the evidence she already had collected during breaks, stuff she could remember from before Enena sent her back and the stuff she’d gathered. All in all, she didn’t learn anything she hadn’t already known. Nothing about how to turn off SQUIPs or even stop them. 

She might have never found anything if she hadn’t walked by the first-floor girls’ bathroom during passing period and heard crying from inside. 

A small part of her said to just go and not be late to class, but her compassion won over logic and she stepped inside the bathroom. It was virtually empty, except for Jenna Rolan sitting on the ground under the sinks, quietly crying. 

“Jenna?” Christine’s voice sounded almost too loud in the bathroom, and Jenna jumped. 

“Huh?” Jenna hastily started wiping her eyes. 

“Are you... are you good?” Christine asked. 

Jenna’s lip started wavering and she sniffled. “I just... I mean... you probably don’t want to hear. It’s stupid.” 

“Jenna...” Christine sat down next to the crying girl. “If you’re upset, it’s probably not stupid.”

Jenna bit her lip. “Rich told me at the party before he went in the bathroom. He told me to tell Jake that he was sorry for something. And I didn’t pay attention to him when I should have, and he’s in the hospital.” 

“Oh, Jenna.” Christine wrapped her arms around Jenna and pulled her into a hug. 

“And no one really-“ Jenna hiccuped. “No one really cares, it feels like. Because Rich almost died, and everyone is just carrying on like nothing happened! Brooke and Jake and Chloe seem... they seem fine! And I feel like I’m the only person who... I feel like I’m doing something wrong. The other day I started crying in the middle of Calculus, and everyone was looking at me-“ 

“Jenna.” Christine cut Jenna off. “Jenna, you’re not doing anything wrong. People deal with stuff differently. Not everyone shows it in the same way. Some people wear their hearts on their sleeves, and some people only let their feelings out when they’re alone.” 

Jenna sniffled. “I just... it seems like everyone’s ignoring me. Like, unless I have gossip, no one even cares about what I have to say. It’s like that’s the only thing I’m good for.” 

“Jenna, that’s not true. I’ve seen your craft Instagram. The stuff you make... it’s amazing!” Christine said. 

Jenna gave a weak smile. “Thanks.” The sound of the bell ringing pierced the air, and Jenna winced. “Oh my God, I totally just made you late to class. I’m so sorry.” 

“Jenna, it’s okay.” Christine smiled. “I don’t mind.” 

“Why are you doing this?” Jenna asked. 

“What?” 

“We barely even know each other and you’re ignoring the fact that you’re late to class just to help me out.” Jenna bit her lip. 

“It’s just the nice thing to do.” Christine stood up and offered Jenna a hand. 

Jenna pulled Christine into another hug. “Thank you so much, Christine. If you ever need anything social-related, I can help you out.” 

Christine chuckled. “Thanks, Jenna.” 

“I have to get to French.” Jenna said. “It’s on the other side of the building.” As she stepped towards the door, she turned back and gave Christine one last smile. “See you around.” 

After Jenna left, Christine started walking to get to her own class. She was just about to turn down the hallway to her English classroom when she noticed something on the ground- a flash of red against the grey tile. Christine bent down to see what the mysterious object was and gasped. 

It was a red flash drive with a piece of tape across the front. The back was decorated with two small stickers, one of Pac-Man and one of an eight-bit red mushroom from Mario. That wasn’t the part that got Christine excited, however. 

On the tape, someone had written **SQUIP RESEARCH** with a sharpie. And under that, they’d written **Michael Mell**. 

***

Brooke didn’t know how her SQUIP had managed to get her into the auditorium after school was over, but somehow it did. The stage lights were down, but Brooke managed to get the house lights on with some feeling along the walls and a _lot_ of tripping. As she made her way down the empty aisle between the seats, she felt almost like a character in a horror movie. The cardboard box in her hand seemed to weigh way more than it actually did. 

**Backstage.**

While Brooke was less-than-thrilled about traipsing around the dark backstage area, she followed her SQUIP’s instructions. The backstage area was, to put it very frankly, a mess. Costume pieces littered the prop table, and sets that were only half-painted despite the fact that the dress rehearsal was literally tomorrow stood propped against the walls. Someone had left an empty Starbucks cup on the ground, right next to a neon green sequined zombie costume. 

**See that mini fridge? Open it.**

Brooke did as she was told. Inside the mini-fridge was a beaker borrowed from the science lab that Mr. Reyes insisted did not carry any life-threatening chemicals whatsoever, filled with a yellow liquid that Brooke knew was just lemonade. It was a prop for the show, supposed to be the potion that turned characters into zombies. 

**Pour the lemonade out.**

_Where?_

**It doesn’t matter.**

Brooke looked around and spotted a side door leading outside. She opened the door and held it open with one hand while using the other hand to pour the lemonade out onto the ground.

**Now dump the pills into the beaker.**

_What? Why?_

**You’ll understand in a minute.**

That made Brooke feel a little uneasy, but she opened the shoebox and poured the pills into the beaker. 

_Now what?_

Just then, Brooke felt a tap on her shoulder. She almost screamed, but remembered that she wasn’t supposed to be in the auditorium and thought better of it. When she turned around, she saw Jake Dillinger, holding what looked like... a two liter bottle of Mountain Dew. 

“I got it for you.” Jake said, holding the bottle out to Brooke. 

“Uh... thanks.” Brooke reached out and grabbed the bottle by the neck. 

Another set of footsteps echoed in the small backstage space, and this time they belonged to none other than Michael Mell. 

_Oh fuck._

**Don’t worry, Brooke. Michael’s on our side.**

_You mean..._

**Up up down down left right A.**

A jolt ran through Brooke’s body, almost making her drop the Mountain Dew. _What was that?_

**I synced you to Michael, just like I did with Rich. Now, pour the Mountain Dew into the beaker.**

_Why?_

**You see, Brooke, humanity... it’s fickle. I’ve made calculations, and some of your peers will inevitably refuse the SQUIP. Which leads me to this course of action.**

_You’re going to SQUIP the entire cast._ Brooke felt a strange heavy feeling in her gut. 

**And that’s just the beginning.** The SQUIP smiled menacingly. **Soon, the entire school will share one social network. It will be much, much easier that way.**

_Easier to do what?_

**Improve your life, of course.**

_I don’t think we should do this._ Brooke’s grip on the Mountain Dew bottle tensed. _We should just put these back in Rich’s locker-_

**It’s okay, Brooke. I anticipated your resistance.**

Suddenly, Brooke’s arm shot up and poured the Mountain Dew into the beaker. The pills fizzled a bit and began to... glow. Like something out of an alien movie. 

**Brooke, we’ve come so far. Don’t mess this up now.**

_Rich... he wanted to get you out._

**And look where he is. This can go one of two ways, Brooke. Cooperate with me, or you end up like Rich.**

_I’m not going to let you-_

**How, Brooke? How do you plan to stop me? I can anticipate your every move. You can either go along with me and improve your life as well as the life of the entire student body, or you can get seriously hurt and I do it for you. Either way, I win. The only variable is whether or not _you_ win.**

She’d made a terrible mistake.

**What is it going to be?**

_I-_ Brooke gulped. _I can’t._

The SQUIP sighed. **That’s what I figured. Oh well. It was your choice after all.**

_Wait-_

**Cognitive process deactivated.**

The world seemed to slow down as Brooke felt her whole world become dark. She wasn’t asleep, but she was alone. She was alone and the entire school was in danger. 

Because of her.


	17. Tech Rehearsal

“So, Christie, what’s so important that we had to meet you in the school computer lab after hours?” Dustin asked, leaning against the desk Christine was sitting at. 

Christine smiled and held up the red flash drive, which she’d been holding onto like a vice the entire day. “This.”

Jeremy’s eyes widened. “That’s Michael’s thumb drive.” 

“What does that say?” Dustin grabbed the flash drive out of Christine’s hands and turned it over. “‘SQUIP Research’...” His eyes widened. 

“Michael must have been doing some research on his own.” Christine said, taking the flash drive back from Dustin. 

“But why wouldn’t he tell us?” Jeremy asked.

Christine shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t want to get our hopes up if it turned out that anything he learned wasn’t true.” 

“Do you think he found out anything useful?” Jeremy leaned in and examined the flash drive. 

“Only one way to find out.” Dustin said. He grabbed the flash drive from Christine’s hand and plugged it into the side of the computer.

After a few moments, a pop-up appeared on the screen with the words **Browse Files**. 

Christine clicked on the first file listed, which turned out to be a folder of screenshots from a text conversation. 

“That’s one of his World of Warcraft buddies.” Jeremy remarked. 

“Looks like it wasn’t too long ago.” Dustin pointed to the screen. “That timestamp is, like, three or four days ago, tops.” 

Christine looked at the screen more closely. “It says something about how this guy’s brother went from a straight D student to a freshman at Harvard.” She said, eyes widened. 

“And?” Dustin asked. 

“And now he’s in a mental hospital.” 

“Because his SQUIP made him crazy?” Jeremy shuffled nervously where he stood. 

Dustin leaned in to the computer screen. “No.” He gripped the plastic chair Christine was sitting in. “It says that he went crazy trying to get it out.” 

That was the end of that folder of screenshots, so Christine closed out of it and opened the next one, which turned out to be even more screenshots. 

“This one was like, right before we met for lunch that day.” Jeremy said. 

Christine’s eyes widened as she took in the messages the other person had been sending Michael, written in all caps with frequent misspellings. 

“Guys, look at this.” Christine pointed to the screen. 

_Epic68: DUDE YOUR GONNA WANMA HEAR THSI_

_MikeyBoi: dude I gotta get going Im supposed to be having lunch w/ my friends_

_Epic68: THIS IS IMPORTANT_

_MikeyBoi: What is it_

_Epic68: APPARENTLY SOME SHIT WITH THE PROECSORS OF THOSE SQUIP THINGS IS REAL SENSITIVE TO MOUNTAIN DEW RED AND THATS THE ONLY THIGN THAT CAN TUNR IT OFF_

_MikeyBoi: Woah really??!_

_Epic68: YEHA_

_MikeyBoi: Dude I owe you big time I gotta tell my friends_

_Epic68: NP_

Christine looked at the screen, hope rising in her chest. 

“So green Mountain Dew activates it...” Jeremy’s voice trailed off. 

“Red shuts it off.” Christine finished the sentence for Jeremy, turning around in her chair to look at him and Dustin. 

Jeremy was smiling like he didn’t know what else to do. Dustin’s eyes were closed and he was mumbling something to himself. If anyone else had wandered into the computer lab, they might have thought the three of them were the Mission Control for the very first flight to the moon. That was what it _felt_ like for Christine. 

She smiled, tears of relief welling up in her eyes. They knew how to turn the SQUIPs off. They could finally stop this, once and for all. She could finish what she’d started. 

She looked up and met Jeremy’s eyes, and without even saying anything, she pulled him into a kiss. It was sweet and tender, soft and warm. Their noses bumped together a little bit, but Christine didn’t mind in the least. 

She was never going to get tired of that. 

The happiness was cut short, however, by the sound of footsteps in the hallway. 

Dustin muttered curses under his breath and yanked the flash drive out of the computer. Christine reached for the light switch, plunging the room into complete darkness, save for the light coming in through the cracked-open door. 

The three of them waited with baited breath for whoever was walking by to pass them, Christine hoping with all her might that it wasn’t a teacher who would give them detention for being on school grounds after hours without a club or an activity to attend. 

To her immense relief, it wasn’t. However, as the person passed the doorway, Christine caught a glimpse of an all-too-familiar red hoodie. 

“Michael.” Dustin whispered under his breath, echoing Christine’s thoughts. 

“Where is he going?” Jeremy asked under his breath, grabbing Christine’s hand in the darkness. 

Christine leaned forward slightly, prying the door open just a little bit to see what direction Michael turned. “It looks like he’s heading towards the auditorium.” Christine whispered. She’d walked that way so many times over the course of her high school years that it was almost second nature to her. 

“What the hell would he be doing there?” Dustin muttered. 

“More like what would _his SQUIP_ be doing?” Christine bit her lip. 

“Whatever it is, it’s probably not good.” Jeremy said.

“Let’s follow him, then.” Dustin stood up, and Christine noticed his hands clenched into fists. 

“Are you sure that’s the best idea?” Jeremy asked. 

“We should.” Christine whispered to Jeremy. “Dustin’s not gonna change his mind on this.” 

Jeremy looked as if he was about to argue, but closed his mouth and nodded. 

Quickly and silently, Christine opened the door and went out into the hallway. With Dustin and Jeremy behind her, Christine followed Michael down the hallway. She was almost to the auditorium before a familiar face walked out of the library, looking down at her phone screen. 

“Christine?” Jenna looked up from her phone screen, the sound of her voice like a gunshot in the silent hallway. 

“Shh!” Christine frantically whispered, putting her finger up to her lips in the universal ‘please be quiet’ symbol. 

“What’s going on?” Jenna asked, looking over her shoulder. 

Christine pointed down the hallway to Michael, who had opened the auditorium door and was walking inside. “We’re following Michael, and we don’t want him to hear us.” 

Jenna’s face scrunched up into an expression of confusion. “Why?” 

“It’s a long, complicated story.” Jeremy sighed, and Jenna looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time. 

“Do I know you from somewhere?” She asked. 

“Jeremy Heere-“ Jeremy started, but was cut off when Jenna noticed Dustin. 

“Dustin?” 

“The one and only.” Dustin made a show of tipping his baseball cap. 

“Is there a deal going on or something?” Jenna’s eyes widened and she gripped her phone a little tighter, like a shield in front of herself. 

“No, not today, Jen. I’ve put my services on a temporary hold.” Dustin said. “We’ve got bigger fish to fry, currently.” 

“So what’s going on, then?” Jenna asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. 

“Something bad is going on with Brooke and Michael, and we’re trying to stop it.” Christine shuffled her feet. 

“What?” 

“It’s difficult to explain.” Christine sighed. “But if we don’t do something soon, something bad could happen.” 

“How can I help?” Jenna asked. 

“What?” Christine’s eyes widened. 

“I owe you one, Christine. And you’re not the type of person to lie that easily. I know people who lie and you’re... you’re not like that. So I’ll help you.” Jenna tucked her phone in her pocket. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

“Thank you, Jenna.” Christine said. 

“Don’t mention it.” Jenna smiled softly. 

“We’re going into the auditorium.” Dustin said, pointing towards the double doors. “And we need to be dead silent.” 

Jenna nodded. “Will do.”

The four of them made their way to the auditorium doors and into the empty theatre. Someone had turned on the house lights, but the stage lights remained off, giving the room an ominous atmosphere. 

“Damn, this is freaky.” Dustin muttered. 

Christine started walking down the aisle, but stopped when she noticed someone coming through the side door. 

“Get down!” She whispered, and the group immediately crouched down next to the chairs, out of sight. 

“Who is that?” Jeremy asked. 

Jenna held her phone up slightly, and Christine saw that she was using the camera app. She zoomed in on the frame and whispered “Jake.”

“Jake _Dillinger_?” Dustin’s eyes widened. “He’s here too?” 

Christine looked up slightly and saw Jake walking towards the backstage area. He was holding something in his hands, a green bottle. _A Mountain Dew bottle._ Christine thought, her stomach sinking. Just before Jake got backstage, he paused and looked around the room. 

Christine smothered a gasp when she saw him. Despite the distance, she could see that Jake’s face had a blank expression. It was almost like he had zoned out, but he was clearly perfectly aware of everything around him. 

Jake didn’t see them. _Thank God for that._ Christine thought as she, Jeremy, Dustin, and Jenna started down the aisle again. 

Stepping over the spot on the stage that she knew would creak, Christine pulled the black curtain back slightly to look into the backstage area. 

“What’s going on?” Jeremy asked. 

Christine squinted in an attempt to see better. Someone at the prop table was messing with the beaker for the show, but their back was turned and Christine couldn’t see who they were. Michael was standing near the table, his red hoodie making him more visible in the dark. 

The side door had been propped open the slightest bit, allowing some light into the area, but not much. 

Jake tapped the person on the shoulder, and they spun around with an alarmed look on their face. 

“Is that Brooke?” Jenna whispered. 

“Yeah.” Christine nodded, a pit settling in her stomach. 

“What’s she doing with Jake? They broke up a few days ago.” Jenna muttered. 

Jake said something to Brooke, and Christine could see her face was knotted in confusion. She reached out and took the bottle of Mountain Dew, and turned back to the beaker. She opened the bottle and poured it into the beaker, and something in the the beaker began to _glow._ Small spots of light, almost invisible from where Christine was crouched, appeared at the bottom of the beaker. 

Brooke stepped back, as if in alarm. She looked between Jake and Michael frantically, with an expression on her face that was almost pleading. Then, without warning, her posture straightened, and her face took on the same blank expression as Jake and Michael’s. She looked at Jake and nodded sharply, then turned back to the prop table. 

It was at that moment Dustin attempted to move closer to Christine so he could get a closer look at what was going on backstage, and before Christine could warn him, he stepped right on the spot that creaked. 

The noise that went up in the air seemed to suck every last bit of oxygen from Christine’s lungs. She didn’t move, not even dating to turn her head and see if they’d been noticed. All four of them; Dustin, Jenna, Jeremy, and herself, were perfectly still and quiet as they waited, waited to see if the three SQUIPped students had heard them. 

One minute passed, then two. Every breath she took was painfully small and quiet, just enough oxygen to keep her from passing out. Her leg was beginning to shake, and she couldn’t steady it. 

She was putting so much energy into staying quiet that she didn’t even have the ability to scream when a hand clamped over her mouth and a forceful grip lifted her off the ground. 

“Christine!” Jeremy sprang up, but he was quickly shoved to the ground by another pair of hands. 

Jenna was pulled up by someone else, and the same person who’d shoved Jeremy down grabbed Dustin and slammed him to the ground as well. 

Christine looked up to see Jake, his grip digging into her skin and his eyes completely emotionless. She bit down on the hand covering her mouth, but Jake didn’t even react. 

Brooke was standing over Jeremy and Dustin, her shoe in Jeremy’s back. And Michael had Jenna on her knees, grabbing by her hair. 

“Let her talk, Jake.” Brooke said, her voice flat and cold. 

Christine felt Jake’s hand lift off her mouth, but it grabbed her side threateningly. “Scream, and you’ll regret it.” 

“We know you’ve been trying to stop us, Christine.” Brooke’s eyes narrowed slightly, the only hint of emotion on her face. “And it won’t work.” 

“We know what destroys you.” Christine said, despite the hammering of her heart. 

Brooke gave a cold and forced-sounding laugh. “Mountain Dew Red? You’re clever. Too bad we had it discontinued.” 

Christine must have done a bad job concealing her shock, because Michael said, “Yep. To get rid of us now, you’d need a time machine to the 1990s.”

“And you’re not going to get to tell anyone this.” Brooke motioned for Michael to keep Dustin and Jeremy down. She walked into the backstage area and came back a few seconds later, holding the beaker with the glowing things in the bottom. Up close, Christine saw that the _things_ were oblong-shaped gray pills. 

“Who wants a drink first?” Jake said, his voice threatening. 

“You know, I don’t think plain Mountain Dew is their thing.” A new voice came from behind Jake, and before Christine could react, the person yelled, “Christine, lift your legs up!” 

Christine did as instructed, and turned her head to see Chloe Valentine, lifting her knee and slamming it right between Jake’s legs. 

Jake gave a surprisingly human-sounding yell of pain, and he finally released his grip on Christine. For just a moment, his face had feeling in it, _emotion_. The moment passed, however, and Jake’s face became just as emotionless as ever as he reached out to grab Christine again. 

Being small and light on her feet finally paid off, and Christine was able to dodge Jake’s attempt to grab her again. She weaved around Jake, causing him to spin around. 

“Dustin!” Chloe yelled. 

Dustin immediately got what Chloe wanted him to do, and stuck out his leg. Jake fell backwards into Michael, making Michael fall as well, which in turn made Michael release his grip on Dustin, Jeremy, and Jenna. Brooke took a step towards them, but the Mountain Dew in the beaker came dangerously close to spilling, and she stepped back.

“Chloe, you’re back!” Jeremy said as he sprang up. 

“Damn right I am, bitches.” Chloe blew a strand of hair out of her face. “Had to do a little shopping first, but I think you’ll understand.” With a triumphant smirk on her face, Chloe reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of Mountain Dew Red. 

“No way.” Dustin’s eyes widened. “How’d you know?” 

“I did some online chatting with a friend who’s interning at a tech company in Japan.” Chloe said. 

“Don’t just sit there! Get them!” Brooke yelled to Jake and Michael. 

“You know what? We can chat about this later.” Chloe said, stepping backwards as Jake and Michael stood up. 

“We need to destroy that beaker.” Christine said, pointing to the beaker Brooke was holding. 

“Gotcha.” Chloe nodded. “But first, we should distract those guys.” She gestured to Jake and Michael, who had now managed to right themselves. 

Jenna looked at Jake with a glare. “Hey, jackass! Come and get me!” She screamed, grabbing the bottle out of Chloe’s hands and dashed across the stage. Jake sprinted after her, but when Jenna reached the other side of the stage, she pivoted on her heels and threw the bottle over Jake’s head. 

Dustin sprinted and caught the bottle, then turned and jumped off the stage into the aisle. “You want this? Come get it!” He held the bottle over his head. 

While Jenna and Dustin kept Jake busy with their pseudo-game of keep-away, Michael had approached Chloe and was attempting to punch her. However, Jeremy snuck up behind Michael and jumped onto his back. “I knew it would pay off when you dared me to ride the mechanical bull at the state fair!” Jeremy yelled. 

As Michael tried to get Jeremy off, Chloe and Christine ran up to Brooke, who clutched the beaker protectively. 

“Brooke...” Chloe said, her voice softening. “This isn’t you.” 

“What do you know?” Brooke’s grip on the beaker tightened.

“You’re not like this!” Chloe yelled. 

“Like what? Better than _you_ for once in my life?” Brooke’s voice became harsh. “You think you’re so cool, but you know what you are, deep down? You’re just a scared little-“ 

“Christine, now!” Chloe yelled. 

Christine reached out and yanked the beaker from Brooke’s hands. Some Mountain Dew got on her arm, but she ignored it as she threw the beaker down onto the ground as hard as she could, smashing it into dozens of tiny pieces. 

“No!” Brooke yelled. She turned to Christine, anger in her face. “You.” 

Suddenly, Brooke’s eyes began _glowing_. “ **You!** ” She repeated, but this time, her voice was distorted, robotic. It wasn’t Brooke talking, If was someone else. Some _thing_ else. 

Chloe tried to hold Brooke back, but Brooke slammed her fist into Chloe’s gut with so much force that Chloe fell backwards, clutching her stomach and groaning in pain. “ **If we can’t succeed, we’re taking _you_ down with us!**” Brooke snarled. 

Christine stepped backwards and began to run. Brooke’s footsteps echoed behind her as she sprinted into the darkened backstage area. _Think, think, think!_

Her sights caught on a metal ladder going up the wall. _The catwalk._ Christine thought as she dashed towards the ladder and threw herself onto it, using strength she didn’t even know she had to pull herself up as Brooke climbed onto the ladder as well, making the whole thing rattle. 

Christine ran out onto the catwalk, little more than a metal walkway with a railing that went over the stage. It was there so that spotlights could hang from it, and tech members could stay up with the lights out of view of the audience. 

She was almost to the other side when someone else came up the other ladder, and Christine’s heart sank when she saw who it was. 

“Christine.” Jake said, his voice still without the slightest trace of emotion. “All I wanted was to feel good enough. And now, I finally do.” His voice distorted in the same way Brooke’s had, becoming robotic, unrecognizable. “ **And I won’t let you take that away from me!** ” 

Christine backed away, but the robotic voice echoing out from behind her made her stop. “ **Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. You’re all out of ideas, Christine. You were close, but now we have to get rid of you. Can’t have you messing this up for us, now, can we?** ” Brooke raised an eyebrow. “ **Get her, Jake.** ” 

Jake lunged for Christine, who flattened herself against the railing on the opposite side of the catwalk. The momentum Jake had used to run sent him over the railing, and for one sickening moment, Christine feared that she’d hurt him. There might have been a supercomputer controlling him, but he wasn’t invincible. 

When she saw that Jake had managed to hang on to the edge of the catwalk, a weird feeling that was part relief, part fear filled her body. 

“ **Humans are so clumsy.** ” The SQUIP said through Brooke. Then, Brooke reached out and grabbed Christine by the wrist, twisting it a little. A flare of pain shot through Christine’s arm. 

Something grabbed Christine’s ankle. She looked down to see Jake, attempting to pull himself off. 

“ **Such a dilemma.** ” The SQUIP smiled maliciously. “ **If you shake him off, he falls. If you don’t, he gets back up and attacks you again.** ” 

Christine felt her heart racing as she realized the SQUIP was right. She knew what she had to do, but it still made her twist up inside. 

“ **You won’t be able to do it.** ” The SQUIP smirked, twisting Christine’s wrist a little more and making her wince in pain. “ **Because you’re just like the rest of them, Christine Canigula. You’re weak.** ” 

Anger rose in Christine as the SQUIP said those words, as she watched Brooke’s mouth move and that horrible robotic voice come out. 

“I’m sorry, Jake.” She whispered. 

And then she hit her ankle against the railing, making Jake lose his grip. His one arm couldn’t hold him, and he fell down to the stage, landing on both his legs with a sickening _crack_. 

“Agh! Oh, God-“ Jake started to yell, his voice filled with pain and his face showing his emotions again, before his face went blank and he stood up, although his legs were bent at weird angles. 

Christine saw Chloe run and tackle Jake to the ground. “Christine!” Chloe looked up, fear and panic etched in her face. 

“Brooke!” Christine turned to the girl in front of her. “Brooke, listen to me.” 

“ **Brooke can’t hear you! She’s gone. I shut her off.** ” The SQUIP glared. “ **She was pathetic, anyways. Needy. Now she will be much, much easier to work with.** ” 

“You’re making her a mindless slave.” Christine growled, and the SQUIP twisted her wrist again. 

“ **I’m going to improve Brooke’s life, if I have to take over the entire human race to do it. And you’ll never be able to stop me.** ” 

Christine thought about how Jake had only shown emotion when he was in extreme pain. An idea formed in her brain. 

“You missed something.” Christine said, making her voice sound as calm as possible. 

“ **What might that be?** ” The SQUIP’s voice was almost amused. 

“ _Never say never._ ” Christine whispered. 

Then, she reached up with her free hand and, with as much force as she could muster, slammed Brooke’s forehead down onto the metal railing. 

***

When consciousness came flooding back to Brooke, she immediately felt a throbbing pain in her head. “Wh-“ 

**No.**

Someone grabbed her gently by the shoulders and helped her to her feet, and Brooke was looking directly into the eyes of Christine Canigula.

“Christine?” Brooke’s own voice sounded shaky. “Wh- where am I?” 

Brooke looked around and realized she was _off the ground._ She was standing on a metal walkway some height off the floor below, and when she looked down, it seemed like chaos had taken over. 

Jenna Rolan and that Jared kid were holding a struggling Michael Mell down to the floor, Jake Dillinger was being held down by Chloe Valentine, his legs bent at unnatural angles, and Dustin Kropp appeared to be holding a red bottle and simply watching all this shit go down. 

**Brooke.**

“Why am I up here?” Brooke asked weakly. 

“The SQUIP took over your body.” Christine said. “It made you put those pills in the beaker.” 

“The beaker.” Brooke’s eyes widened. “Oh God.” 

“We destroyed it.” Christine said. “Don’t worry.” 

Brooke breathed a sigh of relief, but then something else Christine had said caught her attention. “Wait. How do you know about SQUIPs?” 

Christine sighed. “It’s a long story. But for now, we have to finish this.” She leaned over the railing. “Dustin!” 

Dustin looked up. “Christine.” His voice was full of relief. “You’re okay.” 

“Toss me the bottle, please.” Christine said. 

Dustin nodded and chucked the bottle he was holding through the air, where Christine caught it and held it out to Brooke. “Drink this.” 

**No, Brooke, don’t!**

“Why?” Brooke asked, ignoring the SQUIP. 

“It’ll shut the SQUIP off. For good this time.” 

Brooke warily took the bottle, turning it around in her hands to read the label. “Mountain Dew Red.” 

“It’s from the 90s.” Christine remarked. 

Brooke unscrewed the cap and lifted the bottle to her lips. 

**Brooke, think of all you’ll be sacrificing!** The SQUIP’s robotic voice was almost... pleading, in a way. 

“You made me hurt a lot of people. You made me hurt my friends.” Brooke said, though she knew it would only look like she was talking to open air. 

**Everything I did was for you.**

“Well, I’m done.” Brooke said coldly. “I’d rather be without you and happy than with you and miserable.” 

**Without me, you _will_ be miserable. Face it, Brooke. You don’t have what it takes. You’re just like the rest of your peers. Weak. Pathetic. Pitiful-**

“You’re wrong.” Brooke yelled sharply. “I’m not like what you said. I’m strong. And my friends are strong too. _None of us_ need you. _I_ don’t need you!” 

**Brooke, wait-**

And with that, Brooke took a huge sip from the bottle of Mountain Dew Red. 

It tasted vile and flat, but she swallowed it. And instantly, the effects were clear.

Her whole head began shaking from the inside. It was like she was in the middle of an earthquake, or a violent storm. She heard a buzzing noise, but she couldn’t tell where it was coming from. 

And then she screamed. 

From somewhere, she heard Michael and Jake screaming too, but that was quickly lost in the whirlwind of other noises battering her brain. 

The SQUIP was saying something, but Brooke didn’t understand what. She just wanted the noise to stop. 

Finally, she got her wish. The noise faded away, and Brooke herself faded into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes have prevailed! Or have they? Just kidding. They prevailed. 
> 
> And I just realized this is the second chapter in a row that ends with Brooke falling asleep. Whoops!


	18. And Then They Were Roommates

Rich woke up in a different hospital room, with Nurse Sawyer standing over him, a pounding headache, and a consistent beeping sound coming from somewhere in the room.

“You’re awake.” She said, a relieved smile on her face.

“Where am I?” Rich asked, suddenly becoming acutely aware of the dry feeling in his throat. 

“You’re in the intensive care unit.” Nurse Sawyer replied. “You had a seizure last night while you were asleep. We had to transfer you here. Standard protocol.” 

Rich did vaguely remember a feeling of vibration in his head, a buzzing noise, accompanied by his SQUIP saying something in Japanese. But it had seemed like more of a crazy dream than anything else. 

“Do you want some water?” Nurse Sawyer asked. 

Rich nodded. “Yes, please.” He realized with a start that his lisp was back. If Nurse Sawyer noticed, however, she didn’t say anything.

Nurse Sawyer held out a plastic cup full of water, and Rich drank it all in one gulp. “You must be thirsty.” She remarked. 

Rich smiled weakly as Nurse Sawyer took the cup back from him. “Thanks.” 

“Don’t mention it.” Nurse Sawyer returned Rich’s smile. “I have to go check on one of my other patients, but maybe you’d like me to open up the curtains? There’s a boy about your age in the bed next to yours. Sometimes it can help to have someone to talk to in the hospital.” 

Rich thought about it for a second. It beat wallowing in his own thoughts until Matt could visit. “Sure.” 

Nurse Sawyer smiled and drew the curtains separating him and the other patient apart. The instant she did, Rich regretted telling her to do that. Because, just his luck, the patient next to him was Jake. The three-foot gap between their beds didn’t seem nearly wide enough. 

“I’ll be back in a little bit.” Nurse Sawyer gave Rich a soft smile before walking off, leaving Rich and Jake in an awkward silence. 

“Jake.” Rich managed to find some words. “Why... why are you in the hospital?” 

Jake sighed. “I got one of those... things.” 

“You got a SQUIP?” Rich couldn’t help his jaw dropping. “When?” 

“A few days ago. It was right after Halloween... I ran into Brooke in the hallway. We talked for a bit and she offered me one. Everything after that sort of gets fuzzy. Next thing I know, I wake up in the hospital with two broken legs.” Jake bit his lip, and Rich noticed for the first time that Jake was wearing two leg casts. 

“How’d... how’d you break them?” Rich asked, a pit forming in his stomach.

“No idea.” Jake answered, his shoulders sagging. “The hospital staff told me that I fell off the catwalk above the stage in the auditorium, and that I must have moved around some, because my legs are... they’re pretty fucked up. Not gonna lie. They don’t even know if I’ll be able to walk normally again.” 

“Jake...” Rich’s voice trailed off as he struggled to find a response. “I’m so sorry.” 

“It wasn’t your fault.” Jake cleared his throat.  
More uncomfortable silence fell over the two, until Jake spoke. “You... have a lisp now.” 

Rich had to chuckle, despite the circumstances. “Yeah. More like I _always_ had it. The SQUIP just covered it up. Like it covered up everything else about me from freshman year.” 

“You... you did go here freshman year.” Jake said. 

Rich nodded. “But no one saw me. I looked... I was a whole different person. And I was sick of being invisible all the time. So I decided to get one of those SQUIPs.” 

“And it made you someone you weren’t?” Jake asked, his voice cautiously. 

“Not exactly.” Rich shrugged. “It made me someone I was, but to be that person, I had to become someone I wasn’t.” 

Jake nodded. “I remember how mine felt in the beginning. Like I... like I’d never have to feel bad about myself ever again.” He looked at Rich. “What... what did yours look like?” 

“Lara Croft.” Rich said, and he couldn’t help but smile. “What about yours.” 

Jake gave a small smile. “Air Bud. It’s embarrassing.” 

“No, that was a good movie.” Rich said, and Jake laughed a little, but his expression quickly turned serious. “Rich... back at the Halloween party, when I found you and Brooke... that wasn’t you, was it?” 

Rich’s eyes widened. “How’d you know?” 

“My SQUIP told me. But by then, I was too far gone to do much about it.” Jake sighed. “I’m sorry for blowing up on you like that. Making you do...” 

Rich realized what Jake was going to say, and cut him off. “No. Jake, that wasn’t your fault. I wanted to get rid of the SQUIP, and I didn’t... I didn’t care if I died or not.” 

“But why... why would your SQUIP want you to make out with your best friend’s girlfriend?” 

“It was because I had a crush on...” Rich’s voice trailed off. Somehow, he couldn’t make himself say Brooke’s name. It wasn’t just the miserable feeling of the kiss on Halloween. It was the utter lack of any sort of romantic emotion around her. The uncomfortable feeling he got when he thought about kissing her again. But if he didn’t have a crush on Brooke, what alternative was there? 

_Oh._

It explained everything. His jealousy, but the total and complete absence of any romantic emotions towards Brooke. He wasn’t jealous of Jake because he had a crush on Brooke.

He was jealous of Brooke... because he had a crush on Jake. 

“Rich, did you...” Jake’s voice trailed off. “Did you have a crush on Brooke?” 

It would have been so easy to just nod. To go the easy way, to lie, to not permanently damage his relationship with Jake beyond repair. His SQUIP would have told him to lie. No, it would have _made_ him lie. But the SQUIP was blissfully silent, and Rich just couldn’t bring himself to lie any more. 

He shook his head. “No.” 

“Then who...” Jake’s mouth fell open slightly at the realization. “Oh. You... you have a crush on me.” 

Rich buried his face in his hands. “God, I’m such an idiot. Not just because you’re straight, but because I actually believed that stupid fucking computer when it lied to me about my own feelings.” 

“Your SQUIP told you that you liked Brooke?” Jake’s eyes widened. “Why?” 

Rich couldn’t stop the tears that welled up in his eyes. “On Halloween, it said something about ‘fixing’ me. I guess it thought that me liking a guy would make me unpopular again and ruin everything it had worked towards for the last year.” He choked back a sob. 

“I’m not straight.” Jake said, suddenly. 

“What?” Rich looked up, and though his vision was blurred slightly by the tears, he could see that Jake was looking at him.

“At least, I don’t think I am. I know I’m not gay, but I have seen boys and thought about them... you know. Like _that_.” Jake sighed. “You might have been one of them.” 

“Really?” Rich’s eyes widened. 

“Yeah. Remember Halloween last year where we played Truth or Dare, and one of the dares I got was ‘kiss the person to your right for ten seconds’?” 

“Can’t say I do.” Rich shrugged. “Didn’t we drink a lot that night?” 

“We did.” Jake chuckled. “Anyway, you were sitting to my right. And I didn’t want to back down from the dare, so I kissed you. It was pretty awkward, because Dustin Kropp was sitting right in front of us with the stopwatch app on his phone, counting the seconds, and we all laughed afterwards, but I couldn’t... I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I just didn’t tell anyone because I was scared. Middleborough isn’t the most... accepting place on Earth.” 

Rich was never drinking again. He’d kissed _Jake Dillinger_ and he couldn’t even remember it? Was that just his daily _”Hey, fuck you”_ from the universe?

“I don’t think I’m gay, either.” Rich sat up a little bit, brushing the tears out of his eyes with one hand. “I’ve liked girls. I guess... I guess I’m bi.” 

Immediately, he felt assured that was, indeed, what he was. He was bisexual.

“Yeah. I’m bisexual.” Rich said, sitting up a little bit more.

“I think... I think I might be bi too.” Jake smiled softly, and _wow._ Now that Rich knew he liked Jake, he wondered how he hadn’t figured it out sooner. 

Another bout of silence fell between the two of them, but this one was more comfortable. 

“Hey, Rich.” Jake said. “You know... I would really like to get to know you. The _real_ you.” He reached across the three-foot gap between their beds and gently grabbed Rich’s hand, and _Jesus fuck_. That small touch shouldn’t have made his entire body short-circuit, but it did. He was trying to remember how to form a coherent thought. He’d been able to do that a second ago. “And if it’s alright with you...” Jake’s voice trailed off and he breathed in. “Maybe we could go see a movie sometime?”

Rich smiled, his heart beating a little bit faster. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to give my bois a happy ending after all I put them through!


	19. Hospital

Hospital visits were _not_ fun. Brooke learned that the hard way. 

She’d woken up in the ICU with a throbbing pain in her head, her father standing over her. 

“Brooke.” He’d said, his face filled with relief. “You’re awake.” 

Brooke learned that everyone else thought she, Jake, Michael, Chloe, Christine, Jenna _Jeremy_ (in all this, she’d finally managed to learn his name), and Dustin were working on the set for the school play when Jake fell off the light rig, causing Brooke to pass out from the shock of it and hit her head on the railing. 

And Jake had broken his legs, and they didn’t know if he was going to be able to walk normally again. That part of the story made Brooke’s stomach turn. The only reason he’d fallen off the light rig was because Brooke gave him a SQUIP. Without her... he wouldn’t be in the hospital.

_Christine and the others... they must have covered for us._ She’d thought weakly as she sat in the hospital bed, hugging her dad, both of them crying softly. 

Being in the ICU meant that she couldn’t see her dad very often, and it also meant that a lot of her time was spent in the dark, because the lights made her head hurt. Mostly, she’d spent her time reading books her dad had brought her, or sleeping. She’d slept a _lot_ in the days following the SQUIP incident. 

It was so relieving, to know that the SQUIP was finally gone. To be able to be alone with her thoughts, without the voice of Beyoncé criticizing her every move. The quiet in her head was kind of jarring at first, but she grew to like it. It was a nice change not having her every action practically scrutinized under a goddamn microscope.

After about a week in the ICU, the nurses deduced that she was well enough to be transferred to a regular hospital room. She still got headaches every time she turned her head too fast, but she didn’t feel throbbing pain whenever the lights in the room were more than dimmed. It was a start. 

Being in a regular room meant that she could finally have visitors on a regular basis, and not just during the limited visiting hours the ICU provided. The first visitor she got to her new hospital room was one that surprised her. 

“Chloe?” Brooke asked, looking over the top of the novel her dad had brought her two days ago. 

“Hey.” Chloe said, brushing a lock of brown hair out of her face. She was looking down at her shoes, almost as if to avoid Brooke’s eyes. “How are you feeling?” 

“Better.” Brooke bit her lip. “How’s... how have things been back in Middleborough?” 

“No one else knows... what really happened in the auditorium. Only the eight of us do.” Chloe sat down gently on the edge of Brooke’s bed, drumming her fingernails on the white hospital blanket. “I’m guessing you know that already.” 

Brooke nodded. “My dad told me.” 

An uncomfortable silence followed, where it seemed like neither Brooke nor Chloe knew what to say. 

_I never thought I’d see the day. Chloe Valentine, speechless._

However, Brooke knew that she and Chloe were both having the same issue. What _did_ you say to someone who you had called a bitch at a party less than a week ago? Or to someone who you always bossed around and never really had a true bond with? 

Chloe cleared her throat. “Brooke, I wanted to say that I’m... I’m sorry.” 

“What?” Brooke couldn’t stop her eyes from widening. 

“I was... I was horrible to you. I treated you like you were just some mindless drone I could boss around and... I’m so, so sorry.” Chloe bit her lip, and for the first time in a long time, Brooke saw tears in her eyes. “I was jealous of you. That’s why I treated you the way I did.” 

“What?” Brooke wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. Chloe Valentine, the queen bee of Middleborough, the most popular girl in school... was jealous of _her_? 

“That’s not an excuse, I know. I’m just trying to explain why I did it.” Chloe said. 

“I’m... I was jealous of you too.” 

“What?” Chloe looked up, meeting Brooke’s eyes for the first time. 

“You’re so cool! You’re popular, pretty, you never have trouble finding dates to anything- I just wanted to be like you.” Brooke fidgeted with the medical bracelet around her wrist. 

“But everyone always liked you. You were always nice to everyone, and I was just a huge bitch all the time.” Chloe looked just as confused as Brooke. “I wanted to be like _you._ ”

“I guess we both wanted what each other had.” Brooke shrugged weakly. 

“Yeah.” Chloe bit her lip again. “I guess we did.” 

More uncomfortable silence. That was really getting to be the anthem of her life now.

“I’m sorry too.” Brooke blurted. “I’m sorry for calling you a bitch at that party, and for shutting you out when you just wanted to help me.” 

“To be fair, the bitch thing was justified.” Chloe gave a weak smile, and Brooke had to laugh. 

“Still... I shouldn’t have done it.” Brooke shifted in her hospital bed. “I’m sorry.” 

“Me too.” Chloe said. 

“I still want to be friends with you, Chloe.” Brooke gripped part of the sheets in her hands, as if it were an anchor. “But... we probably need to work out some stuff first.” 

Chloe nodded. “Yeah. We do.” 

“So how about we start over?” Brooke looked up at Chloe and met her eyes for the first time. 

Chloe smiled gently, the first time Brooke had seen a genuine smile from Chloe Valentine in... God only knew how long. “I’d like that.” 

*** 

After the Chloe conversation, there was someone else Brooke needed to have a conversation with. 

After convincing her nurses she was well enough, Brooke was allowed to visit Jake in his hospital room. 

Standing there in a hospital gown, about to talk to her ex-boyfriend who she’d never really _like_ liked in the first place, she was kind of starting to regret her decision. But the conversation needed to happen, and Brooke was done putting things off for her own sake. She needed to rip off the Band-Aid. 

“Hey, Jake.” Brooke said, her voice sounding out in the quiet hospital room. Jake looked over at her, and... he didn’t look angry. Which surprised Brooke, if she was being honest.

“Hey.” Jake gave Brooke a little nod. “How’s it going?” 

“Better.” Brooke sighed. “My head doesn’t hurt at the sight of bright lights anymore.” 

“That’s good.” Jake said, drumming his fingers on his hospital bed. 

“Look, Jake...” Brooke inhaled. “I’m sorry. For everything.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“For giving you a SQUIP. For dating you when... I didn’t really like you in the first place.” She exhaled. Those words had been hanging on her like a weight, and now that they were out in the open, she felt so much lighter. 

“I didn’t... I didn’t like you either.” Jake sighed. “Not like _that_ , anyways.” 

“That doesn’t make it okay.” Brooke sat down in a chair next to Jake’s hospital bed. “I used you to become popular. I took advantage of the fact that you were hurting and I dated you when I knew I didn’t like you. I’m sorry.” 

“Brooke... you know that you can’t chalk everything you did up to your own decisions, right? Yeah, you messed up. But there was a supercomputer inside your head literally controlling you. I’d say you at least get some sort of a pass.” Jake cracked a small smile. 

Brooke chuckled weakly. “Still... I’m sorry. For everything.” 

Jake nodded understandingly. “I forgive you.” 

Brooke smiled. “Thank you, Jake.” 

“Don’t mention it.” Jake said, but his smile faltered. 

“How... how are your legs doing?” Brooke asked, running her fingers along the armrest of the chair. Someone had written “Lexi Was Here” on the plastic with a pencil. 

“Not... good. They got pretty fucked up.” Jake sighed. “They don’t know if I’ll be able to walk normally again.” 

“Jake...” Brooke bit her lip, and the wave of guilt that had temporarily subsided cane flooding back. Jake loved sports, and now he wasn’t going to be able to play them ever again. Because of her. 

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it. It was that stupid Tic Tac that made me break ‘em, not you.” 

“But if I hadn’t gotten that ‘stupid Tic Tac’ in the first place, you wouldn’t have broken them.” Brooke sighed. “I can’t believe all this happened because I wanted to be cool.” 

“Brooke.” Jake said, and Brooke looked up to meet his eyes. “Yeah, you made a mistake. But you’re not a bad person. You’re a human.” 

“When did you get so philosophical?” Brooke asked, and Jake laughed. 

“Hey, this hotel only has three channels and I don’t have anything else to do. Give me a break.” Jake smiled softly. “My point was, if there’s anything this whole shitshow has taught me...” Jake’s voice trailed off and, for a minute, his smile grew a little more. It was like he was... thinking about someone. 

“What?” Brooke asked.

“It’s that people can change for the better. Without a supercomputer to help them along.” 

*** 

It had been about a week since Brooke got discharged from the hospital when she started hearing it again. 

**Brooke.**

The SQUIP wasn’t nearly as loud as it had been, but it was there. 

_What? ___

__Brooke felt her heart start racing. If the shutoff attempt hadn’t worked, then that meant the SQUIP was back. It meant it had failed._ _

__**I would shock you, but it appears your shutoff attempt has caused some problems with my programming.** _ _

__Or maybe not._ _

___Hey, knockoff Beyoncé? Fuck off. You don’t deserve to wear the face of such an awesome singer._ Despite the fact that it was only in her head, she felt a sense of satisfaction at saying those words. _ _

__**You’ll never get rid of me, Brooke.** _ _

___Yeah, but I can ignore you._ _ _

__**You can’t ignore me, Brooke. I’m inside your brain.** _ _

___Oh yeah? Watch me._ _ _

__**You can still have things the way they were. It’s not too late to change your mind.** _ _

___Too bad. I’m done._ _ _

__**I’m always going to stick with you.** _ _

___Maybe you’ll always be there, but you’re not in control of me anymore. I can make up my own mind now. From now on, I’m the one in control._ _ _

__**Brooke, please-** _ _

___You know what they say. It’s been real, it’s been fun, but it wasn’t real fun._ _ _

__And though the SQUIP’s voice was still screaming at her, it seemed comically small compared to her own thoughts._ _

__There were other voices in her head, sure. But from now on? The loudest voice was always going to be hers._ _

__No matter what._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more chapter, everyone!


	20. Finale

It had been almost three weeks since the SQUIP incident, and things were finally starting to get back to normal.

So of course, that night, she had another dream. 

She was back in the same white room, full of silence, with Enena standing in front of her and holding the same golden crystal she had been holding when Christine first saw her. All of that felt like a lifetime ago. 

“It’s you.” Christine said, her voice carrying in the empty room. 

“Yes, Christine.” Enena smiled, but her eyes were teary.

“What’s the matter?” Christine asked, gesturing to the tears. 

“Nothing is wrong, Christine. I’ve been freed.” 

“What?” Christine almost had to be sure she’d heard Enena correctly. 

“The gods have decided that because my work helped you... that my punishment is up. I am finally going to be able to rejoin the other gods once and for all.” Enena’s voice cracked, and Christine saw genuine happiness in her eyes.

“That’s... incredible.” Christine smiled. 

“Yes, but...” The happiness in Enena’s eyes clouded over, replaced with sadness. “There is one more condition I have to met before the other gods will let me rejoin them.”

“What is it?” Christine asked, curious. 

“In order to rejoin the gods, you cannot remember ever meeting me.” 

“What?” Christine blinked, taken aback by the words. “Why?” 

“It’s simply... too dangerous. Mortals are not allowed to know of our existence, and the fact that you knew at all, even for a short time, is a wonder unto itself.” Enena sighed.

“But you... you helped me so much.” Christine bit her lip, and a small choking feeling built up in her throat. 

“It’s for the best, Christine. I couldn’t have you go through life knowing things were once different.” 

“So I won’t remember you? At all?” Christine asked.

Enena nodded. “Once you wake up, it will be as if you had never seen me in the first place. You learning about SQUIPs will become you overhearing Rich and Jeremy in the boy’s bathroom. You telling the group about your dream will become a different conversation, and Chloe will have left the group for a different reason. You remembering the fire will become your own realization, without me helping you along.” 

“But you probably saved me and my friends’ lives. And I’m not even going to remember what you did for me.” Christine could feel her eyes getting watery. 

Enena smiled sadly. “It’s better this way. For everyone involved.”

“Thank you so much.” Christine said, smiling through her teary eyes. “For everything.” 

“It was truly a pleasure, Christine.” Enena held the crystal out. “Put your hands on this, please.”

Christine did as she was told, feeling the warm and smooth surface of the crystal under her palms. 

Enena took a deep breath and began chanting in a mysterious language. Just like when she had been sent back, the crystal grew warmer and the light it emitted grew brighter. Characters of a strange dialect began flashing in front of her eyes, staying in the air for a moment before fading out. 

Christine felt a pull on her eyelids as she became impossibly tired. Her vision became blurry as she started giving in to sleep, but she managed to get out a single word before her consciousness left her. 

“Goodbye.” 

***

When Christine woke up, it felt as if she’d been asleep for ages. She threw back her covers and got out of bed, blinking as her eyes tried to adjust to the sunlight coming in through the slatted blinds. 

She yawned and stretched her arms, shaking the fatigue out of her muscles. As she did so, her eyes fell on something resting on her nightstand- a necklace. 

It was weird- she never remembered buying a necklace like that or getting it as a gift. But it was pretty- and something about the necklace made Christine want to put it on. It wasn’t an elaborate or overly fancy necklace, which Christine kind of liked. Despite her passion for theatre, she never did like over-the-top, flashy jewelry. 

This necklace was a simple silver chain that lead to a single charm, a circular yellow gemstone. Christine couldn’t tell what kind of gemstone it was, but it had an almost translucent appearance, as if it were some sort of crystal. 

In awe, Christine picked up the necklace and held it out to the light, watching the sun catch the gemstone. As the necklace swung softly from the motion, Christine marveled at the effect the light had on the gem. When the sun caught it just right, the stone shimmered. 

Almost as if it was glowing.

***

**Two Months Later**

Christine got out of Michael’s car, which had been parked right outside the Pinkberry. “Come on, guys! It’s freezing.” She shivered. 

“All right, all right, we’re coming.” Dustin said, getting out of the car and shutting the door behind him.

“We want frozen yogurt too, you know. You don’t exactly have to twist our arms.” Jeremy said, grabbing Christine’s hand.

Christine smiled gently and kissed Jeremy on the cheek, causing Michael to fake a gag behind them. 

“Shut up.” Jeremy looked over his shoulder and gave Michael a glare. “It’s not like you and Dustin weren’t doing the same thing in the car.” 

“Oh no.” Dustin deadpanned. “He figured us out.” 

“Figured what out?” Christine turned around to see Jake and Rich walking towards them.

“That Michael and Dustin made out in the car.” Jeremy said, and Michael gave him a smack on the shoulder. 

“Steamy.” Rich remarked, his lisp coming out on the ‘s’.

“Not you too.” Michael groaned. 

“Hey guys!” Brooke said, jogging up to the group, with Chloe and Jenna following close behind her. 

“‘Sup, losers?” Chloe smirked. She was wearing her track team jacket, like the world’s unlikeliest jock. 

“Chloe.” Brooke said, her voice like a mother disciplining a toddler.

“I mean that as a compliment.” Chloe added quickly. 

“Are we going to get frozen yogurt, or are we just going to stand in the parking lot until a car runs us over?” Jenna asked. 

“I prefer the former.” Christine said. 

“Me too.” Jake nodded slightly. 

“Then let’s get inside.” Dustin started walking towards the entrance, and the rest of the group followed. 

Inside the Pinkberry, it smelled like sugar, fruit, and waffle cones. The bell attached to the door chimed gently as the group entered. 

Christine grabbed a plastic cup and stuck it under the dispenser, swirling in a mixture of vanilla and chocolate. She looked out at her friends- Jeremy was doing the same thing as she was, Michael and Dustin were using the plastic spoons to scoop toppings into their hands, Rich was helping Jake get his frozen yogurt while also trying to fill his own cup (resulting in both of them laughing), and Chloe, Brooke, and Jenna had finished putting yogurt in their cups and were now putting on an assortment of toppings. 

After getting her own toppings, Christine joined the group at the table. Jake had put his crutches against the wall, and he was now preoccupied with trying to keep Rich from stealing the miniature Reese’s cups on his frozen yogurt.

“Please?” Rich whined. Since losing his SQUIP, he had become an entirely different person. He was excitable, bubbly, and overall a much nicer person. 

“No.” Jake said, and Rich groaned.

“If we weren’t dating, I would _so_ hate your guts right now.” 

Jake laughed and put an arm around Rich, which made Rich blush profusely and Chloe roll her eyes. 

“We get it. You like each other.” She took a bite of her frozen yogurt, topped with coconut and blueberries. 

“I can’t believe this place doesn’t let you get a bowl full of toppings.” Michael grumbled as he took a bite of Cookies and Cream. “Apparently it’s ‘against the rules’.” 

“You should write a letter.” Jenna suggested, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 

“Maybe I will.” Michael said, reaching out and grabbing a kiwi slice from on top of Dustin’s frozen yogurt. 

“How are things going with the spring musical preparations, Christine?” Brooke asked, wiping her plastic spoon on a napkin. 

“Really good. You guys know what musical we’re doing?” Christine took a bite of frozen yogurt.

“What?” Jeremy asked.

“Grease.” Christine grinned, spreading her hands out in the air dramatically. 

“I love that movie!” Jenna squealed. 

“You know, you would make an _amazing_ Sandy, Brooke.” Christine said.

Brooke’s eyes widened. “Really?” 

Christine nodded. “Yeah! You have the right vibe.” 

Brooke chuckled. “Thanks, Christine.” 

After everyone had finished their frozen yogurt, the group headed for their separate cars. Rich and Jake left with Rich driving in Jake’s car, and Jenna, Chloe, and Brooke left in Brooke’s car. However, while Christine was making her way back to Michael’s car, she collided with someone else walking towards the Pinkberry. 

“Oh my gosh!” Christine said, stumbling backwards. “I’m so sorry!” 

“It’s no problem.” The woman she’d ran into said, waving her hand dismissively. She had olive skin, dark hair, and she was wearing a white peacoat. Christine had never seen the woman before, but something about her seemed... familiar. 

“Do I know you from somewhere?” Christine asked. Despite the fact that she knew, deep down, that she didn’t actually know this woman, the element of familiarity about her was enough to get Christine curious.

The woman smiled softly, and a wistful expression came over her face. “Perhaps.” She said. “From a different time.” 

The woman kept walking, and Christine shrugged off the encounter. 

“Are you coming?” Jeremy asked.

Christine nodded and kept walking. “Yep. Just... lost in thought.” 

As the car traveled down the road, the thoughts of the mysterious woman quickly left Christine’s mind as she absentmindedly fiddled with the necklace around her neck. Though she didn’t remember buying the necklace, she’d become attached to it. 

“Are you good?” Jeremy asked, his hand finding Christine’s and squeezing it tight. 

“Yep.” Christine nodded, and she actually meant it this time. The SQUIP incident had been crazy, but now that it was finally over, it was like a weight had lifted off of her shoulders. 

It finally felt like Christine and her friends were getting a fresh start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are, folks, the last chapter of A Change To Change Everything. Honestly, thank you so much to everyone who has ever read, left kudos or left a comment on this fic. A Chance To Change Everything would not be what it is without you guys. 
> 
> It’s been an amazing journey writing this fic and such an incredible experience to bring these characters who I know and love to life. Though I’ve undoubtedly caused some emotional pain to you all, it’s truly been a fun ride. 
> 
> Thank you all again so much for supporting my fic, and I hope you enjoyed the final chapter of this story.


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